Eilish McColgan withdraws from the London Marathon after sustaining knee injury amid sponsor row

Eilish McColgan admitted she had ‘shed a lot of tears’ after pulling out of Sunday’s London Marathon with a knee injury following a sponsor row.

The Scottish distance runner was due to make her debut over 26.2 miles at the race she watched her mother Liz famously win in 1996.

But McColgan was forced to withdraw from the event on Friday because of a knee issue, which she says was partially caused by the ‘stress’ of a ‘disagreement’ with London Marathon bosses.

Mail Sport understands problems arose after the in-form 32-year-old signed a new partnership with nutrition brand Science in Sport, who are a rival of Lucozade, the official sports drink of the race.

‘I’ve had a few disagreements with London Marathon regarding the contractual side of things,’ revealed McColgan. ‘I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to race due to a sponsor clash between myself and London Marathon’s sponsor.

Eilish McColgan said the stress of her recent sponsorship row was partially behind her knee injury

Just three weeks on from breaking the British record in the Berlin Half Marathon, McColgan has been forced to withdraw from the showpiece London event

The Scottish distance runner said that juggling injury and sponsorship issues had been ‘incredibly stressful’

‘As you can imagine, juggling that and coming back from injury has been incredibly stressful. I’ve tried to push things and, as a result, suffered from a knee issue this week.

‘These past few weeks I’ve felt an overwhelming amount of pressure to try and keep everyone happy. From sponsors to race organisers. I feel like life has swallowed me up and spat me out.

‘To not be a part of it, having trained so hard to be there, it is sad. I’ve shed a lot of tears for the last two days. I’ve tried, trust me I’ve tried. But it’s just got to the point where it’s not going to be feasible to run a marathon this weekend.

‘Thankfully, the knee is nothing serious. But as much as I really want to be in London, I don’t want to put my long-term career at risk. I’ve only just started out on the roads and I don’t want it to end as soon as it started.’

McColgan also disclosed she tore her hamstring when she broke the British record at the Berlin Half Marathon three weeks ago – but insists she had returned to fitness before her knee problem this week.

McColgan’s mother, Liz (L), won the London Marathon herself famously in 1996

‘I know I’m ready to run a good marathon,’ added the Commonwealth 10,000m champion. ‘I know the shape that I’m in right now and that’s probably what makes it hard to not be on the startline.

‘One of the hardest parts is I know how special the London Marathon is. I’ve been there with my mum. I’ve watched Paula Radcliffe on TV. But there’ll be another London Marathon.’

While McColgan will be missing, Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will still be making her marathon debut on Sunday. She will come up against world-record holder Brigid Kosgei, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchi and last year’s winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw.

In the men’s elite race, Britain’s four-time Olympic track champion Mo Farah will run his last marathon in a field which features four of five fastest marathon runners in history.