SYDNEY (AP):

Jana Rawlinson's injury jinx ahead of major championships continued on Sunday when the Australian said a back injury will prevent her from defending her 400-metre hurdles title at the worlds in Berlin next month.

Rawlinson has been struggling with a bulging disc in her back and pulled out of this week's London Grand Prix. She won 400 hurdles world titles at Osaka in 2007 and in Paris in 2003.

Still suffering from injury

"Unfortunately, the injury to my back has meant I haven't been able to train properly for six weeks and, despite intensive treatment, it is still causing me a lot of pain and hampering my running," Rawlinson was quoted by the Australian Associated Press as saying in a statement from London.

"When I compete I want to do both myself and my country justice by competing at a world standard, but sadly, this won't be the case at the upcoming world champion-ships."

Pittman-Rawlinson just returned to the track after a yearlong layoff due to complications from a serious toe injury that forced her out of the Beijing Olympics. She finished fifth at the Athens Olympics after suffering a knee injury a few weeks before the 2004 Games.

The world championships begin on August 15.