The Beijing Olympic Games 1500 metres bronze medallist Nick Willis has decided not to compete in the World Championships in Berlin next month.
Willis has withdrawn to allow plenty of time for a full recovery from hip surgery before embarking on an important year of competition in 2010.
He had intended to run the 800 metres in Berlin but does not want to take any unnecessary risks as he builds up to defend his Commonwealth 1500 title in Delhi.
He says he's back running for 50 to 60 minutes four or five times a week and is fairly fit.
But Willis says he can't put in the intensive work on the track to get race sharp and it's not worth the risk.
The 26 year old says he'll be heading back to New Zealand in December for seven to eight weeks for warm weather training before returning to the States for the indoor season.
