Outdoor Track and Field on Flotrack 2013

Makhloufi Out for Moscow with Viral Infection

Makhloufi Out for Moscow with Viral Infection

Jul 19, 2013 by Christopher Chavez
Makhloufi Out for Moscow with Viral Infection
The list of athletes not competing at the 2013 IAAF World Championships continues to grow. Olympic 1,500-meter gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi will not compete in Moscow after battling a viral infection, which has kept him from training in the past month. The withdrawl was first reported by El Watan, a French-languge newspaper in Algeria. 

Makhloufi's only race of the season was at the Prefontaine Classic, where he finished 11th in the Bowerman Mile with his time of 3:52.94. He was timed through the 1,500-meter mark at 3:36.30. 

At the 2011 World Championships, Makhloufi did not make it out of the semifinal round by placing 11th (3:50.86) in the section won by Matthew Centrowitz. He turned things around in 2012 when he became the Olympic Champion. While in London he was disqualified in the Olympic 800-meter run, because he did not put forth his best effort. He would be reinstated to the competition for the men's 1,500-meter run and won the final in 3:34.08. 

The World Championships in Moscow will already be without defending champions Kenyan David Rudisha (800m) and Yohan Blake (100m). American sprinter Tyson Gay has withdrawn his name from competition after a positive drug test.