REIGNING Commonwealth Games javelin champion Kathryn Mitchell and middle-distance running medal favourite Stewart McSweyn have both been forced to pull out of Birmingham action with illness.
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Mitchell acquired an unknown virus in transit from the United States while McSweyn remains recovering from influenza.
Both have been unable to travel from the Birmingham Games.
The women's javelin final is on Sunday.
Long-time Eureka Athletics Club mentor Rod Griffin said it was so disappointing for both athletes.
"It shows how fickle sport is - you can put in all that work and be so fit and get something seemingly so simple that can devastate you," Griffin said.
"I feel so sorry for both of them. It shows how susceptible you can be to illness, even with a high level of fitness."
Griffin said the withdrawals created an "empty" feeling for Ballarat athletics community, which had been following the pair's progress for so long.
Mitchell missed the javelin final in last month's IAAF World Championships in Oregon after failing to progress past the qualifying round.
The Ballarat-based Mitchell had been working to recreate the form she had for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where she threw 68.92 metres to stake gold with an Australian and Oceania record.
McSweyn, a former Ballarat Clarendon College student, has been forced to pull out of the 1500 metres at the Commonwealth Games after coming down with the flu.
The national record holder has endured a difficult year after an adverse reaction to a COVID-19 booster in March led to him being diagnosed with pericarditis or inflammation around the heart.
He recovered in time to compete at last month's world championships in Eugene, where he placed ninth in the 1500m final won by Britain's Jake Wightman.
Had he not fallen ill, McSweyn would had been among the medal favourites in the metric mile in Birmingham.
It is the second time he has been forced to pull out of a major event due to illness this year, after complications with a COVID-19 vaccine in February.
He also pulled out of the world indoor championships in Belgrade earlier this year.
The 1500m heats are on Thursday.
There are no other Ballarat athletes remaining in the Games.
In better news for the Australian team, two-time javelin world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber has been given the medical all-clear to compete in Birmingham.
Barber had tested positive to COVID-19 on arrival at the Australian team training camp in Tonbridge.
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