Gymnastic Gold Medalist Paul Hamm Not Going to Beijing

The reigning Olympic gold medalist announced Monday that he is withdrawing from the U.S. team because he is not sufficiently healthy enough to compete. Besides his broken right hand, he strained his left rotator cuff in his accelerated recovery effort."This has been the hardest decision I've ever had to make. But I have too much respect for the Olympics and my team to continue on when I know the best thing for everyone is for me to step aside," Hamm said.
"I did everything I possibly could," the 25-year-old added. "There just wasn't enough time. I feel like if I had another month, I would have been able to get the job done."


The U.S. men are scheduled to leave Wednesday, and competition begins Aug. 9.
Hamm's injury is a blow to the Americans, who were fourth at last year's world championships and hoped his return — and that of twin brother Morgan — would get them back on the podium. It also clears the way for China's Yang Wei in the all-around race. Yang, the two-time defending world champion, is so technically superior that Hamm is believed to be the only one who could challenge him.


"When you go into the Olympic Games, you're supposed to be in the best shape of your life," Hamm said. "Not the worst shape."
He broke his hand May 22 at the national championships, just 11 weeks before the start of the games. He had surgery five days later and pushed his recovery in hopes he'd be healthy enough to help the Americans win a medal and defend his all-around title."His inspiring comeback to win the Olympic gold medal in 2004 was one of the signature moments of the Athens Olympic Games," said Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "Equally inspiring is the manner by which Paul worked to try to regain his full competitive form for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games."

Excerpts from CNN.com