CHRISTIAN Malcolm has admitted that he felt the 200m gold medal was 'there for the taking,' but just couldn't risk his long-term future.

Newport sprinter Malcolm, was forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games last night after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday's 100m heats.

Scans revealed the 26-year-old former World Junior Champion has a torn hamstring and he has decided not to risk further damage and ruin his 2006 campaign completely.

He said: "I'm gutted because the Commonwealth Games is special for me as it is my only chance to compete for Wales on a world level and at an international championship.

"I was a little bit sore going into the race, my hamstring was playing up a little a couple of days before, but you just put it to the back of your mind and get on with it, and the moment I put my first foot down I knew there was a problem but I kept driving and driving until eventually I couldn't go on.

"I felt that in the 100m after Asafa Powell the other medals were there for the taking and in the 200m I felt that the gold was also there for the taking, and I'm not going to be part of it now and that is going to be difficult for me to take.

"It's hard to take because I'm in great shape, I know I am and that's the only positive thing I can say. Maybe if this had happened three weeks earlier then I'd have been able to compete.

"It just goes to show that these things can happen at any time. It never entered my mind to pull out of the 100m and just concentrate on the 200m, that did not enter my thinking."

Malcolm has been cursed by injury and illness over the past few years. And he had thought that since battling back from kidney failure in 2004 prior to the Athens Olympics his injury problems were firmly behind him.

He said: "I had no problems up until the age of 22. I was never injured, but since then I've had a lot of injuries and I thought after Athens I had addressed those problems, but obviously not.

"It is just one of things that happen to sprinters, I'll be back in a couple of weeks and is just bad timing.

He added: "It is a long way to come for just a few seconds of running but I can't dwell on it and I just have to keep my spirits up, these things are here to test me and I have to stay positive."

Meanwhile fellow sprinter Rhys Williams and Matt Elias are comfortably through to tomorrow's semi-finals of the 400m hurdles with both winning their heats.

Elias ran a time of 49.77secs while Williams ran 49.52sec recording a personal best time.

Tanni-Grey Thompson came third in her heat to qualify for Wednesday's final and the Team Wales captain and Paralympic legend promised there was no need to panic after a far from impressive first round performance in the 800m.

She said: "There is still plenty more to come. I felt comfortable out there and didn't want to push it too hard."