Yim finished fourth in U.S. trials

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Olympic hopeful gymnast Tabitha Yim ruptured her right Achilles tendon during training Tuesday, ending her chances of making the Athens Games.

Yim will have surgery Wednesday, but recovery is expected to take several months. Two-time national champion Courtney Kupets was on crutches for two months after tearing her Achilles last summer, and it was about four months before she could do serious training.

Yim, 18, finished fourth at the Olympic trials that ended Sunday, and was one of 15 gymnasts invited to a selection camp next month to compete for the four remaining spots on the U.S. squad. A solid all-around gymnast who can also post high scores on beam and floor, she was thought to have a good chance to make the team.

Yim worked her way back after missing all of last season with a partially torn Achilles and a fracture in her lower leg. Determined to make the Olympics, the two-time national runner-up deferred her scholarship to Stanford to focus on Athens.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press

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