With the big picture of the Rio Olympics at the forefront of his mind, Australian Jeff Riseley reluctantly withdrew from the 800m semi-finals at the world athletics championships on Sunday due to a painful foot injury.
Riseley injured the plantar fascia in his right foot during the pre-championships training camp in Japan.
He defied the injury to finish third in his heat on Saturday, which booked him a spot in Sunday's final.
But the injury continued to worsen and he made the decision to pull out after consultation with Australian team officials in Beijing and his coach Andrew Russell back in Melbourne.
"It's not the result that I wanted but it's the best decision to ensure my preparation for Rio next year," said Riseley.
"I worked hard with the Athletics Australia medical team and my coach to give myself the best possible chance for a start in the semi-final, but during my warm-up I could not do what I needed to do to run well.
"I don't want to compete at a level any less than what I know I am capable of.
"It's disappointing, but in my best interests in the long term.
"I came here in amazing shape and think I showed that in the heat.
"The plan now is to recover and make sure that I take a similar level of preparation to the Olympic Games."
Riseley, 28, will return to Australian to undergo surgery on the injury.
He also suffered plantar fasciitis in his left foot back in 2010, ruling him out of the Delhi Commonwealth Games.
Share
