Australia’s Ian Thorpe today pulled out of the Commonwealth Games after failing to recover from illness.
The multiple Olympic champion has been suffering from bronchitis and a viral infection and has been unable to train fully.
Thorpe said: “It has been a very trying time for me.
“As of yesterday, I realised I was going to be of little, if any, benefit to the team.
“I would have been so far off my best it was not worth it.”
The news did not come as a total surprise, with Thorpe struggling with the illness since the national trials last month.