Drouin taking season off

Olympic high jump gold medalist and Corunna native Derek Drouin will not compete in the 2018 track and field season. In a tweet last week, Drouin said he has dealt with some “unusual and confusing symptoms” during the preseason.

Olympic high jump gold medalist and Corunna native Derek Drouin will not compete in the 2018 track and field season.

In a tweet last week, Drouin said he has dealt with some “unusual and confusing symptoms” during the preseason.

He hasn’t competed since 2017 and pulled out of last year’s world championships because of a small tear in his Achilles tendon.

Drouin, 28, competed with a double stress fracture in his spine at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he won gold.

In the tweet, Drouin added he is “optimistic” that with rest and continued medical support he will return to competition next year.

The reigning Olympic high jump champ said last year he planned to pursue decathlon with hopes of representing Canada internationally.