Knott was suffering from a plantar fasciitis tear in her left foot. She revealed that an MRI in January showed that she had an injury, but a second MRI recently revealed a tear.

The 26-year-old sprinter and her team decided to pull out from the 31st SEA Games that will be held at the My Dinh National Stadium on May 14 for her to recover and prepare for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China and the World Championships in Oregon.

“I’ll be out for two weeks, and that will be leading into the SEA Games. We made the decision to pull out and recover so that I can be ready for the Asian Games and the World Championships,” said Knott in a virtual presser on Monday.

“We don’t want to rush because the ultimate goal is to win in the Asian Games. That is my goal right there. If the world championships is not possible, we will just focus on the Asian Games and win golds in the 100 and 200-meter dash.”

Despite Knott pulling out of the competition, PATAFA president Popoy Juico remains upbeat about the athletics team doing their best in Vietnam.

“We will still be formidable, competitive, and we’ll have a good fight,” Juico said.