Javier Gomez, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist and two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, has today announced that he has been forced to withdraw from the first event of the T100 Triathlon World Tour.

Set to line up against a stellar field that includes old foe Alistair Brownlee at the Miami T100 this weekend, Gomez became the second big name athlete to withdraw from the race today after Anne Haug also pulled the plug.

Just four days out from the race, three of the 40 athletes set to start have withdrawn, including Swiss star Imogen Simmonds, who announced that she would skip Miami due to an ankle injury late last week.

Bad luck continues for Gomez

Unfortunately for Gomez, the last three months have not been smooth sailing when it comes to racing, with two DNF’s at IRONMAN 70.3 Taupo and IRONMAN 70.3 Tasmania marring his highly anticipated comeback from injury.

On the bright side, the Spaniard did win IRONMAN 70.3 Mossel Bay last year and is qualified for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo this December, but that will likely be little consolation at this point.

Breaking the news that nobody wanted to hear on Instagram, Gomez revealed that a virus had put paid to his efforts to make it to the start line in Miami, with his focus now on Singapore.

“After a good training block, unfortunately I won’t be able to compete in T100 Miami this weekend. A virus hit me quite hard last week and after a few days in bed with a fever and a bunch of missed training sessions, I’m only just starting to feel normal now.”

Making the right decisions

Adding that the decision was not one he had taken lightly, Gomez shared that it was only after receiving a doctor’s advice that he made the decision to pull out and prioritize his health.

“Following doctor’s advice I’ve decided to pull out and focus on recovery. I’m so gutted to not be a part of the first T100 Triathlon World Tour event, it is going to be epic. Good luck to everyone competing this weekend in Miami and I’ll see you all in the next one.”

In April, the T100 Tour will make its second stop in Singapore, with the race there scheduled for April 13-14. With any luck, we will see the 40-year-old fit and healthy in six weeks time.