Gymnast Paul Hamm pulls out of Olympics

updated 7:15 p.m. ET July 28, 2008

Paul Hamm had the best medical care there is, and the drive and determination to make yet another spectacular comeback.

What he didn't have was enough time.

With only about a week of training time left, the reigning gold medalist withdrew from the Beijing Olympics on Monday because he won't be healthy enough to compete. Besides persistent pain from the right hand he broke 2 months ago, he strained his left rotator cuff in his accelerated recovery effort.

"There came a point in the gym where I almost threw my arms in the air and just knew, this wasn't working,'' the 25-year-old Hamm said. "It was a really tough decision for me to make. You could drag this out even further. But what I know with my body and what I feel, there's no point for me to do that. It's not in the best interest of everyone involved.

"I pushed for the comeback, I did everything I possibly could,'' he said. "There just wasn't enough time. I feel like if I had another month, I would have been able to get the job done.''

‘We were so close’
But he didn't have a month. He didn't even have a week's worth of practices. The American men go through processing Tuesday and leave for China on Wednesday. Podium training - the one opportunity gymnasts have to train on the competition floor and in front of judges before the meet begins - is Aug. 6.

The men's competition begins Aug. 9.

"We were so close,'' said Dr. Lawrence Lubbers, the hand specialist who operated on Hamm on May 27. "Without the shoulder, we probably would have made it. But the two were just too much.''

Alternate Raj Bhavsar will take Hamm's place in Beijing.

"It's difficult to train sometimes when you don't know what your training is truly for or whether you'll get that chance. It can be a disheartening experience. There are times you have to dig deep and not lose faith,'' said Bhavsar, who almost quit the sport after being an alternate in 2004.

"I wish this was done in a better circumstance, without losing a great athlete. I accept it, and I'm ready to fulfill this mission.''

Huge blow
USA Gymnastics also is still waiting for final clearance on Hamm's twin brother Morgan, who received a warning July 3 from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for getting a prescribed anti-inflammatory shot without having the proper paperwork.

Paul Hamm's withdrawal is a huge blow for the Americans, who were fourth at last year's world championships and hoped his return - and that of Morgan - would get them back on the podium. Hamm is the only American to win the world (2003) or Olympic (2004) all-around titles.

It also clears the way for China's Yang Wei in the all-around. Yang, the two-time defending world champion, is so technically superior that Hamm was considered the only one who could challenge him.

"I was giving myself the chance to see how this past week went, to see if I could turn the corner at any point. That just never happened,'' Hamm said. "When you go into the Olympic Games, you're supposed to be in the best shape of your life. Not the worst shape.''

Hamm's recovery appeared to be on track when he proved he was physically able to compete at a July 19 intrasquad meet. He did portions of all six events that day, estimating he was about 90 percent, but said he still had pain in the right hand.

INTERACTIVE Hamm’s 2007 return to competition The gold-medal gymnast took a three-year hiatus after the Athens Games. NBCOlympics.com

He said his shoulder began hurting the day after that intrasquad meet. When he returned home to Columbus, Ohio, it was clear just what a toll the hard training had taken.

"The week after camp has been a disaster,'' Hamm said flatly.

Time and again last week, he got up on the still rings only to have to quickly drop back off. Skills he had been able to do a few days earlier were now impossible.

"What stopped us, I think, is the shoulder,'' coach Miles Avery said. "It's just from working hard. It's just an overuse injury. If you rest and ice it, you'll be fine and can pick back up. We don't have the time.''

Hamm broke the fourth metacarpal - the bone extending from his right ring finger to his wrist - May 22 at the national championships, just 11 weeks before the start of the games. It's a devastating injury for a gymnast, because every one of the six events the men do puts a heavy load of stress on the hand. Many moves require the hand to be twisted sharply or support a gymnast's entire body weight.

Lubbers stabilized the fracture May 27, inserting a titanium plate and nine tiny screws. Though Hamm was allowed to do strength and conditioning work, he wasn't cleared to resume full gymnastics activity until July 3.

"I felt we could make it under the wire, even though it was close and it was going to be close,'' Lubbers said. "If we'd just had another month or if we could have gone a little slower. (But) I didn't have the flexibility in the time table.''

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