An “adverse reaction” to hard training has forced a young athlete to retire, the Lufbra Echo can exclusively reveal. The young star had had ambitions to make it “at a top level” in athletics, but complained of fatigue whenever his coach forced him to do some training. The unnamed Loughborough-based runner had been hailed by many as “the next big thing” in the sport, but it was yesterday confirmed by Loughborough insiders that this season would be his last. “He will see the remainder of this campaign out”, said the source, “but after that will be moving on from running. It is a real shame. We all had high hopes for him.”
Sources close to the Loughborough set up have told of a man “cut down in his prime”. “It is such a cruel old world,” sighed a senior aide to the coaching team, “I look at this wonderfully talented young man and have to wonder what might have been. Now we’ll never know.” It is rumoured that Loughborough medics spent an “extortionate amount of time and money” on trying to get to the bottom of the issues. “Test after test showed nothing,” said a medical insider, “we tested him for anaemia, hayfever, wind intolerance, adversity to bright vests- the lot. We even tested the water to make sure that it was at the right pH level”. It only became clear to doctors what the issue was when a new blood test was developed by a team in America to determine whether an athlete could tolerate “training of any real description”. “Common complaints include not feeling at your best in runs,” continued the medic, “and feeling generally tired. Many sufferers also complain of thinking they are better than they really are. Another more technical name for it might be laziness. ” It has not yet been confirmed, but it is thought many British athletes could well be afflicted with the same condition. “It is crucial that we get a safe and legal treatment for this menace as soon as is possible,” concluded our medical source.