Olympic high jump champion Andrei Silnov will miss next month's World Championships in Berlin with an achilles injury.

More Stories

• Bolt runs 9.79 in Paris despite poor start

The Russian, who took the high jump gold in Beijing with a 2.36-metres effort, said he would be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery three weeks ago.

"I'm in a plaster now so my season is over," said Silnov, 24, who also had the season's best jump of 2.38 metres last year.

Silnov's withdrawal is the second major blow for Russia's medal chances at the Aug. 15-23 championships after Olympic pole vault silver medallist Evgeny Lukyanenko pulled out because of illness earlier this week.