Champion hurdler Jack Green to take break from athletics in 2014 after revealing battle with depression I'd like to thank the British Athletics performance team including my coach Malcolm Arnold for their support and understanding leading up to this difficult decision. Green, who trains under Malcolm Arnold and Bath alongside 2011 world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene, announced himself as one of Britain's most exciting young prospects with 400m hurdles gold at the 2011 European Under-23 Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The following year he qualified for his first Olympic Games and made it through to the semi-finals before tangling with a hurdle on the back straight and failing to finish the race. He also ran the second leg in the Olympic 4x400m final, in which the British team finished in an agonising fourth place, just 0.13 sec outside the bronze medal. But the Maidstone-born athlete endured a torrid season this year, failing to finish three races and struggling to emulate his performances of the previous year. After missing out on the defence of his European Under-23 title when he crashed out of the heats in Tampere, Finland, he called a premature halt to his season, admitting he had endured "the worst year of my life with a lot of personal issues." Neil Black, the UK Athletics performance director, said: "We fully support Jack in what has obviously been a tough decision and I'm really pleased that he has been open about his reasons. We look forward to seeing Jack back in the sport once he has had enough time to recuperate.