Injured Gymnast Hamm Not Going to Olympics
Aug 23, 2008
Injured Gymnast Hamm Not Going to OlympicsThe Associated Press. Gymnast Paul Hamm, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, announced Monday that he is withdrawing from the U.S. team because his broken right hand is not sufficiently healthy enough for him to compete. (July 28)He\'s one of the best gymnasts the United States has ever had. But Paul Hamm (hahm) won\'t be competing in the Summer Olympics. The reigning Olympic gold medalist withdrew from the U-S team Monday. That\'s because his broken right hand hasn\'t healed enough for him to compete. He also hurt his rotator cuff in his accelerated recovery effort. In an unprecedented move, Hamm and his twin brother Morgan took more than 2 years off from the sport so they could focus on their studies. But Hamm appeared on track to win another gold this year after winning every meet he entered this year. 1:01SOT: there were times when we missed gymnastics but there were also times that we really enjoyed that time off. It was a good chance for us after the last olympics to let our minds and bodies rest. PAUL HAMM Hamm won the Olympic gold medalist during the 2004 Athens games in one of the most spectacular comebacks in history . Hamm dropped to 12 place after a fall on the vault. But with only two events left, he rallied with two of the best routines of his career to win the gold. Just two days later, the International Gymnastics Federation said the bronze medalist was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his second-to-last event. That extra tenth would have scored higher than Hamm. During that time, Hamm was forced to defend his gold medal.1:01:55 SOT: I DON\'T THINK ABOUT THE CONTROVERSY ALL THAT OFTEN. WHEN I SPEAK WITH THE MEDIA, THAT\'S WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT THE MOST. IT\'S SOMETHING THAT\'S A PART OF MY LIFE IF I DON\'T MIND TALKING ABOUT IT, IT HAPPENED TO ME AND I FELT THAT I DEALT WITH THE SITUATION WELL. BUT I\'VE MOVED ON AT THIS POINTPAUL HAMM Hamm is the only American man to win the world 2003 and Olympic 2004 titles. And he led the United States to a silver medal in Athens-- their first at the Olympics in 20 years. An alternate is expected to take Hamm\'s place when the competition begins August 9th. ___ ___, The Associated Press.
