Nafissatou Thiam may miss the World Athletics Championships in Budapest

The gold medalist of the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics and two-time world champion in heptathlon Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium) may miss the world championships in athletics in Budapest (Hungary) due to injury.

She withdrew from the national championships at the weekend and has not yet confirmed whether she will travel to the Hungarian capital, the Belgian athletics federation said.

Nafissatou Thiam has an Achilles tendon problem and missed the Diamond League tournaments in Monaco and London and withdrew after two starts from the Belgian Championship last weekend.

The local headquarters confirmed that Nafissatou Thiam’s participation was in doubt, while her coach Michael Van der Plaetsen told: “It remains to be seen how her tendons will react to the intense training ahead. Inflammation never comes at the right time. If you don’t take good care of it, things can get worse”.

Nafissatou Thiam is expected to defend her heptathlon title in Budapest, where the world championships will be held from August 19 to 27. Last year in Eugene, she won her second world title after London 2017.

In March, Nafissatou Thiam, who has Olympic gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, broke the pentathlon world record with 5,055 points at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul.