OTTAWA — Derek Drouin's priority is defending his world championship gold medal.
And so the 27-year-old Olympic and world high jump champion withdrew from the Canadian track and field championships with an Achilles injury, rather than taking an unnecessary risk.
"It's disappointing on a number of levels, but I keep reminding myself that the IAAF world championships in London is the focus of the season," Drouin said in a statement Thursday. "I'm confident that with this decision, I'll be ready to defend my world title."
The Canadian championships determine the team for the worlds, Aug. 5-13 at London's Olympic Stadium, where Drouin won bronze at the 2012 Olympics. The top two athletes in each event qualify for the team, provided they've achieved the qualifying standard. There is a discretionary third spot in each event.
Drouin, who won world gold in 2015 in Beijing, then followed it up with Olympic gold last summer in Rio, would be named to the team by the selection committee.
"I'm really disappointed not to be able to compete on Saturday," Drouin said. "I've been dealing with a nagging Achilles issue and my doctor decided this morning that it wasn't in the best interests of my health to compete in Ottawa.
"The Canadian track and field championships are a competition that I look forward to every year. We don't get a whole lot of chances to compete in Canada. There's not a whole lot of opportunities for my family and friends to watch me."
Drouin's best height this season is 2.28 metres. His Canadian record is 2.40. He's also been training for the decathlon, with his sights set on earning a spot on the 2018 Commonwealth Games in that event, and in April, his jump of 2.28 — as part of a decathlon at the Sam Adams Combined Event Invitational — was a world's best jump for the 10-discipline event.
He's no stranger to injuries, rebounding from ankle surgery to compete at the London Games, and then revealing after Rio that he'd competed with a stress fracture in his spine.
Lori Ewing , The Canadian Press