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Nelson withdraws from Comm Games team

Larissa Pasternatsky has replaced Ella Nelson in the Australian track and field team for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

File image of runner Ella Nelson of Australia in action.
Ella Nelson has withdrawn from the Australian Commonwealth Games team. (AAP)

Australian sprinter Ella Nelson has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games track and field team, citing medical reasons.

Nelson, 23, shot to prominence at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when she missed out on a spot in the 200m final by just one hundredth of a second.

Nelson's time of 22.50 seconds in Rio saw her rocket to sixth spot on the Australian all-time list, but she has been unable to scale those heights again in the intervening 18 months.

She was eliminated in the opening round of the 200m at the 2017 world championships.

Nelson chose to skip the Commonwealth Games selection trials on the Gold Coast last month, but was still named in the Australian team in the 200m.

She finally returned to the track at a low-key meet in Canberra last weekend but could only manage a time of 24.68 in the half-lap race - more than two seconds outside her personal best.

Nelson has been replaced in the squad for the April 4-15 Gold Coast Games by NSW runner Larissa Pasternatsky.

The 26-year-old Pasternatsky was third behind Riley Day and Maddie Coates in the 200m final at the selection trials in a personal best time of 23.27.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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