OLYMPIC CHAMPION Josia Thugwane yesterday revealed that he will not run at the World Championships in Athens to give other runners a chance.

The announcement comes just a day after several British marathon runners refused to participate in the same event because of the likely conditions.

But South African Thugwane was not impressed with these complaints about the weather, explaining his reasoning was to create opportunities for more of his country's runners.

He said: "There are many undiscovered runners in South Africa and they may well be better than me.

"I already have a gold medal from the Olympics, I think we should give the chance to other athletes not as lucky as me to go to a major event."