Max Carter has insisted that he 'had to put his health first' after abandoning his bid to reach the 2020 Olympics due to a seizure.
The 20-year-old collapsed last month while attempting to hit his weight target and has now resigned from Great Britain's Taekwondo setup.
Carter, ranked 17th in the world rankings and seen as a Team GB medal hopeful for the Tokyo Games, has now explained the reasons behind his "heartbreaking" decision to leave behind his Olympics hopes.
"I had to put my health first," he told BBC Sport. "The last three months have been mentally the worst of my life and stopping is heartbreaking as I've always dreamt of going to the Olympics.
"Because of the tonsillitis I was basically eating just liquid foods as my throat was so painful and I was also trying to lose weight so I was really weak.
"I was going to the doctors to pick up more antibiotics and the next thing I remember is being in the ambulance going to hospital. They said I had a seizure and basically a fit for about 10 minutes and at that point I said 'I'm not doing this to myself anymore'."
Carter has now taken on a job as a sales executive after quitting the GB Taekwondo academy in Manchester and returning to his family home in Southampton.
Daniel Lewis
