A trio of top British athletes, including world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu and Olympic 400 metres gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu, pulled out of the troubled Commonwealth Games in India on Tuesday.
Idowu's withdrawal was based on security concerns while Ohuruogu, plagued by injury problems this year, suffered cramp in a training session over the weekend and decided to pull out as a precaution from the event starting in New Delhi on Oct. 3.
Lisa Dobriskey, Commonwealth 1,500 metres champion and fourth over the distance at the European championships in Barcelona last month, also withdrew saying she had run out of time after struggling with injury earlier in the season.
Idowu outlined his worries about attending the Games on his Twitter page, writing: "Sorry people but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal."
Organisers have endured a raft of criticism from competing teams over unfinished and unclean athletes' accommodation.
"I am disappointed to miss the Commonwealth Games after working so hard to get fit since my quad injury in June," Ohuruogu, 26, said in a statement.
"However, with the 2012 Olympic Games on the horizon the last thing an athlete wants to do is risk re-injury to the same muscle.
"It was very important for me to be cautious in dealing with my previous injury; although training was progressing well, intense competition over three days may prove to be more harmful than good and may compromise the long term functioning of the muscle."
Dobriskey said she had been looking forward to competing but had taken medical advice to rest and focus on winter season training working towards the 2011 indoor season.
"I'm really disappointed, but I just ran out of time. I want to wish all the best to the athletes out in Delhi," she said in a statement.
The Games have already been hit with several high profile withdrawals, including multiple Olympic champion Usain Bolt and Kenya's David Rudisha, who broke the 800 metres world record twice last month.
