Bucher delays return

Bucher's writing hand has been busier than his feet at this year's Athletissima meeting Keystone

Injured Swiss athletics star Andre Bucher is delaying his return to competition until the Monaco Golden League meeting on July 19.

Bucher had originally aimed to be back in action two weeks earlier but the Lucerne runner has still not fully recovered from a foot fracture sustained during a training session in April.

The reigning 800 metres world champion was only able to resume track training at the end of last week, preventing him from taking part in next weekend’s Swiss championships in Colombier.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Athletissima meeting in Lausanne, Bucher said he would only decide after the Monaco event whether he would then take part in August’s European Championships in Munich.

“The time I record in Monaco won’t be as important as how my running feels,” Bucher said when asked how he would decide.

Bucher rejected reports that he had already written off his chances of competing in Munich but admitted that “time is certainly scarce for getting back to the top level.”

Even if he cannot take part in the European Championships, Bucher says he has no plans of abandoning the season in its entirety, but will rather concentrate on the remaining Golden League events.

swissinfo with agencies