Hicham El Guerrouj, the Olympic 1500 and 5000 metres gold medallist, is suffering from 'flu and has withdrawn from two high profile clashes with Eliud Kipchoge in the next six days.
El Guerrouj was scheduled to meet Kipchoge, Kenya's reigning World 5000m champion over 3000 metres, in Hengelo tomorrow again next Saturday in a two-mile race at the Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix in Eugene.
But El Guerrouj's manager, acting on medical advice, pulled his star athletes out of both the Thales FBK-Games at the Netherlands venue and the USA's top meeting in Oregon State.
El Guerrouj will now return to his training camp in Ifrane, Morocco, to recover.
Meanwhile, Kenenisa Bekele will compete in Hengelo where the Ethiopian is hoping to smash his own 10000m world mark set last June in Ostrava.
