Olympic champion Jamie Staff considering pulling out of Commonwealth

Olympic champion Jamie Staff looks set to join a growing list of athletes who are planning not to compete at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Games, which are scheduled to be held in Delhi, India in October, have been surrounded by fears over security, which has thrown England’s attendance at the championships into doubt.

Staff, who lives in Brabourne, near Ashford, is a big supporter of the Commonwealth Games and has featured in the last two at Manchester in 2002 and Sydney in 2006, winning two silver medals and a bronze.

But growing fears over security after terrorist attacks in Mumbai and Lahore in the last two years and concerns regarding the completion of venues have left the 36-year-old contemplating pulling out of competing and even given the choice, he wouldn’t make the trip to India this year.

He said: “I personally don’t want to go and I’m not even sure if the track will be ready in time. There is a lot of speculation around it at the moment. It’s a shame because the Commonwealth Games are normally a fun event, but no one seems to be worrying about it this time round.”

With a back injury likely to force him out of next month’s World Track Cycling Championships in Poland, missing the Commonwealth Games would end Staff’s hopes of a major medal this season.

Staff's comments echo the opinions of a number of athletes, who have stated their fears of travelling to compete in India. This week world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis said she had pulled out of competing because it did not fit with her training schedule.

Fellow Olympian Lisa Dobriskey, from Ashford, has also hinted she may have to think about adding the Games to her schedule for this year.