Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas has withdrawn from this month's World Championships in Tokyo due to injury, she confirmed on Tuesday.

A statement released by the 28-year-old US sprint star's publicist said Thomas, who also won gold in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays at last year's Paris Olympics, had been dealing with an Achilles tendon issue since May.

After the problem worsened in July, Thomas and her coach "made the difficult decision that there was not enough time for her to be fully healthy for World Championships in two weeks," the statement said.

Thomas looked short of her best form at the US trials in Eugene last month, finishing third in the 200m in a time of 22.20sec, well outside her personal best of 21.60sec.

"I understand that it will be disappointing for some track

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