Hambuechen hurts ankle in training
LONDON -- There might be one less favorite for the men's title at the world gymnastics championships.
Fabian Hambuechen, the silver medalist at the 2007 worlds, left the gym on crutches Sunday after injuring his ankle during training. While there was no update Sunday night, the German team scheduled a news conference Monday morning to discuss Hambuechen's condition.
"It's really unfortunate what happened," said Jonathan Horton, who along with Hambuechen and Japan's Kohei Uchimura are the top contenders for the all-around title. "It always hurts the competition when one of the top guys goes down like that. Hopefully it's nothing serious."
Hambuechen appeared to get too much power on one of his tumbling passes on floor, his last event of the day. He came down on the side of his left foot and it rolled over, apparently hurting his ankle.
Hambuechen is one of the star attractions at worlds, expected to contend for multiple medals. He won three medals at the 2007 worlds, including the silver in the all-around and gold on high bar. He was the bronze medalist on high bar at the Beijing Olympics, and won the European all-around title earlier this year.
"I definitely wish for the best for him, he's one of my good friends," Horton said. "He's a great competitor. He always is in great shape and he always puts on a great show for everyone, and there isn't a person in here that doesn't like him."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
