Lilian Odira/ TEDDY MULEI World 800m champion Lilian Odira says she is heartbroken to miss out on the World Ultimate Championships, where she was eager to lock horns with the fastest women over two laps this season.
Odira had already secured automatic qualification for the inaugural World Ultimate Championships after capturing the world title last year in Tokyo, Japan.
However, the Kenyan middle-distance queen was forced to withdraw from the Budapest spectacle after falling ill, bringing her 2026 campaign to a premature end.
For Odira, the decision to pull out of one of the year's biggest athletics showpieces has been devastating. "The women's 800m is so amazing right now, and I am just really heartbroken not to be on the start list," Odira shared.
She also confirmed that her season is officially over as she focuses on making a full recovery. "It is so disappointing for me to say I shall not be at the World Ultimate Championships in Budapest and the Athlos in London.
"Since coming back to Nairobi a few weeks ago, I have not fully recovered. As a result, I have not stepped back on the track for any training session," she added.
Despite the setback, Odira remains confident of a stronger return in 2027, when she is set to defend her world crown in Beijing, China. "I promise to be back stronger than ever in 2027."
Odira bows out of 2026 after a season that delivered both dazzling highs and frustrating lows. She opened her campaign at the Kip Keino Classic on April 24 with a runner-up finish in 1:59.15, behind Ethiopia's Nigist Getachew, who won in 1:58.79.
The Kenyan then showcased her exceptional versatility at the Kenya Prisons Service Track and Field Championships on May 8–9, completing a sensational hat-trick of victories in the 1,500m (4:29.1), 800m (2:07.8) and 400m (53.2).
Her Diamond League journey began in Rabat on May 31, where she finished third in 1:57.27, behind Audrey Werro (1:56.56) and Tsige Duguma (1:57.24). On June 20, Odira successfully defended her national title, powering to a third successive Kenyan 800m crown in 2:00.44.
Her finest performance came on July 4 at the Prefontaine Classic, where she unleashed a devastating finishing kick to claim her maiden Diamond League victory of the season in a season-best 1:56.19. She held off Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who clocked 1:56.73, while Addy Wiley completed the podium in 1:57.70.
Odira carried that rich vein of form into the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where she added a silver medal to her growing collection after clocking 2:00.58, behind England's Georgia Hunter Bell, who struck gold in 1:59.51.
In her most recent track outing on August 21, Odira fizzled to a seventh-place finish at the Lausanne Diamond League, timing 1:59.25.
