London, Feb 28: Olympic 5,000 metres champion Gabriela Szabo will not defend her title in Athens this year after doctors advised her to take a long rest. The Romanian said on Friday she felt ''burnt out'' and would take the rest of 2004 off after failing to complete her first race of the season in Birmingham last week.
Szabo's decision means she will also be absent from the world indoor championships in Budapest, which start next Friday.
''I felt burnt out and over-trained after the world championships in Paris last year,'' Szabo told the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website.
''The doctor advised me to take a long rest, so I took two and a half months off from training. I then started training again and after a training camp at altitude I returned to Europe one week before the meeting in Birmingham,” she said.
''During the race (last Friday) there the feeling was still not good and I realised that I still needed a longer period of rest after already being at the top level for 10 years,” Szabo added.
''This means that I will not compete in the Olympic Games. I hope to come back to the top level in the future.''
The 28-year-old Szabo won world titles over 5,000 metres in 1997 and 1999 and in the 1,500 in 2001.
But she has struggled for form in the past two seasons and last year she finished 11th in the 5,000 final at the Paris World Championships.
Last month her world indoor 5,000 metres record, which had stood since 1999, was smashed by over eight seconds by Ethiopia's Berhane Adere. Bureau Report