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World champion Paula Radcliffe will not defend her London marathon crown later this month because of the foot injury which forced her to miss the Commonwealth Games, organisers announced on Monday.
The 32-year-old star of British distance running, who has won the London race three times, has been struggling with the foot injury since hitting a rock in January during a training run at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"The London Marathon is something that is extremely important to me, and I have done everything possible to resolve the problem and get to the start line," Radcliffe said.
"I have to accept that the injury needs a short period of total rest and I also have to focus on moving on from this and on my future."
Race director David Bedford added: "After she withdrew from the Commonwealth Games 10,000m, it was always a possibility that Paula would pull out of London.
"To race when less than fully fit is simply not the Paula we know and could jeopardise her form for some time."
Radcliffe's career has frequently been blighted by injury. She missed both the 1994 and 1998 Commonwealth Games as well as last month's event in Melbourne and her dreams of an Olympic marathon gold medal in Greece in 2004 were shattered when she was forced to abandon the race.
The world record holder has won the London marathon three times, in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In her absence, Kenya's Margaret Okayo will be favourite to win the 2006 edition on April 23.
Britain's top male distance runner Jon Brown has meanwhile pulled out of the men's race because of a foot injury which has curtailed his training.
Morocco's Abdelkader El Mouaziz, a winner of the race in 1998, has been added to a high-quality field which includes Kenya's world record holder Paul Tergat and Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie.
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Athletics-marathon
AFP 031159 GMT 04 06
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