Olympics-Athletics-Australian walker Deakes suffers injury scare

SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) - Australia's world walking champion Nathan Deakes suffered a setback in his buildup to the Beijing Olympics after injuring a hamstring while training in Europe.

Deakes, who won the men's 50 kilometre walk at last year's world championships in Osaka, Japan, had been preparing to compete in a 20km race in Russia this weekend when he aggravated the injury.

The 30-year-old immediately withdrew from the race and returned home to Australia but team officials remain confident he will fully recover in time for Beijing.

"Deakes aggravated an existing injury in the lead up to the event, and has returned home to Canberra," Australian team manager Brent Vallance said in a statement on Thursday.

"This injury is an untimely one, however we are confident that Nathan will be at his best in August for the 50km in Beijing."

(Reporting by Julian Linden. Editing by Ossian Shine)