2016 Rio Olympics: French Gymnast Samir Ait Said Breaks Leg in Gruesome Vault Landing
French gymnast Samir Aït Said had one of the most painful Olympic experiences possible on Saturday.
During the men's vault qualification rounds, the 26-year-old Olympian snapped his left leg during a vault landing that was so gruesome it could be heard throughout the arena in Rio.
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According to New York Times sports columnist Juliet Macur, "A loud snap just echoed through the arena when Samir Ait Said of France landed his vault. He hurt his left leg. Left on a stretcher."
Said's injury can be seen in the picture captured below. WARNING: It is not pretty.
Medical staff first brought a wheelchair out for the injured gymnast, who was in obvious, visible pain, but ended up taking him off the floor in a stretcher.
This was Said's first Olympics games. He had been hoping to advance to Monday's finals before his injury.
Despite the awful turn of events, Said was in good spirits on Sunday when he updated fans on his condition via Facebook. The video, posted in French, revealed that the athlete already had surgery to fix his broken tibia and fibula, and he plans to support his teammates as they continue competing. Not only will he be in the arena once again, he'll be sporting a red-and-blue cast.
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Hope Solo has also had a difficult time in Rio, albeit for very different reasons. She was booed by a crowd at the Olympics for her controversial post about the Zika virus. Find out more about what she original wrote on Instagram in the video below.
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