According to DTL German gymnasts Matthias Fahrig and Steve Woitalla are both injured and out of the German Championships which will take place this weekend in Göppingen. Fahrig had a tendinitis in the left foot for a couple of weeks and didn’t compete at the first German trials two weeks ago, too. It turns out he is still struggling with it and his doctors advised him to avoid any pressure on the foot for another week. It will be decided this Sunday whether Fahrig still gets a chance to make the Worlds team. Steve Woitalla ruptured a muscle fiber in the left calf and will definitely be out of Worlds. The two gymnasts from Berlin, Philipp Sorrer and Brian Gladow, won’t compete either, they already got injured a couple of weeks ago.
And according to the Italian Gymnastics Federation gymnast Mattia Tamiazzo, member of the 2010 Italian World team, ruptured the tendon in his right knee.
I’m wondering, do gymnasts really get injured more often these days or do we only have better access to all the sad news with the internet? Within hours we know about Izbasa, Chelaru and Iordache who won’t compete at Romanian Nationals as well as Beth Tweddle, we heard about Elisabeth Seitz, we saw Chellsie Memmel on bars at Visa’s and Rebecca Bross on vault. And don’t forget Viktoria Komova’s stumble in the gym and of course Aliya Mustafina at Europeans.
As I’m following the sport of gymnastics only for five years very closely I don’t know about the number of injuries under the old “perfect 10” system. Did it really get so much worser with the CoP? Or are we only better informed? Or is it a mix of both?
GymNiceTic 
August 25, 2011 at 8:38 PM |
I was a gymnast in the mid 80’s so I really started paying attention then although I remember watching Kurt Thomas and Marcia Fredrick and so on from earlier. Surprisingly even with “easier” routines there were quite a few. Shannon Miller had several she talks about barely getting through the 92 games. Kim Zmeskal had one that kept her from being her best. Bart conner torn pectoral I know. Tim Dagget career ending vault injury. Diane Durham was always trading wins with Mary Lou, Mary herself surprised many in 84 competing in LA after a serious recent knee injury. Back then you had compulsories and the equipment itself was harsher.