Olympic injuries range from basic to bizarre

updated 6:26 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2008

To the Olympic ideals of higher, faster and stronger, here’s another worthy pursuit: healthier.

Just ask gymnast Paul Hamm. Or sprinter Tyson Gay.

Or even Hossein Rezazadeh, the weightlifter better known as “Iranian Hercules.”

A few weeks ago, each was a headliner, someone the rest of the competition respected and possibly feared. Now, Hamm and Rezazadeh are out because of injuries, while Gay heads to Beijing focused more on his trainer than rivals Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.

For Hamm, a broken hand and a bum shoulder are to blame. For Rezazadeh, it’s a knee he hurt in a car wreck. For Gay, it’s a strained hamstring.

Their aches and pains are a reminder that while Olympians may seem superhuman, they are very much as human as the weekend warrior who shows up to work Monday morning on crutches.

With the opening ceremony rapidly approaching, The Associated Press cobbled together an informal Olympic disabled list filtered into two categories:

—Those like Hamm and Rezazadeh who can’t go;

—Those like Gay who are hurt but going anyway.

The list is further broken down by U.S. athletes and international foes, with an emphasis on high-profile performers.

Male or female, big sports or small, the causes range from basic (the show jumper who fell off a horse and broke a leg) to bizarre (the guy who lost a finger on a metal fence).

Tennis has had enough injury-related withdrawals to fill an extra bracket, with more stars iffy. The dropouts include two women who’ve been No. 1 in the world — Russia’s Maria Sharapova (shoulder); and France’s Mary Pierce (knee), who was trying to come back from a two-year layoff — and Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis (wrist), the 2006 Australian Open runner-up.

Also worth flagging is the women’s 400-meter hurdles, an event that should be held as close to the medical tent as possible. Injuries already have claimed the top two finishers at last year’s world championships, and the best U.S. hope failed to qualify a year after giving birth to twins — not an injury, of course, but still too much physical trauma for her to overcome.

Disappointing? Of course. But the anguish of these ruined dreams can be tempered by the tale of Hungarian canoeist Gyorgy Kolonics.

A winner of two gold medals and two bronze over the last three Olympics, Kolonics was training when he dropped dead in his canoe on July 15. Only 36, heart failure was to blame.

Abby Wambach certainly gets it. The leading scorer for the reigning Olympic champions, she’s sidelined by a broken leg. It’s the first serious injury of her career, and she’s handling it like a champion.

“This is very bad timing, but this is what my life has shown me and these are the cards that I’ve been dealt,” she said. “With those hard times it’s when your character really shines through.”

Hurt, Not Going - U.S. edition

Hamm, gymnastics: The reigning all-around gold medalist, he ran out of time in recovering from a broken right hand sustained two months ago. While trying to speed his recovery, he also strained his left rotator cuff.

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

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Wambach, soccer: She broke the two major bones in her lower left leg during the team’s final pre-Olympics tuneup. The next day, she had a titanium rod inserted. She’s hoping to return next spring, in time to be part of the new Women’s Professional Soccer league.

Allen Johnson, hurdles: The 1996 gold medalist at 110 meters, and a seven-time national champion, he lost his chance for a fourth straight Olympics when he aggravated a leg injury during a preliminary heat at the trials. He’ll be 41 the next time the Olympics come around, so this likely was his last shot.

Ericka Lorenz, water polo: Part of the team that won silver in Sydney (when women’s water polo became a medal sport), and bronze in Athens, she wasn’t able to join two teammates as three-time Olympians because of a back injury suffered last year.

Colby Rasmus, baseball: A former Little League World Series star, the St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect recently sprained his knee and won’t be Beijing-bound.

Nathan Sturgis, soccer: A hamstring injury that’s cost him playing time for MLS club Real Salt Lake also cost him his Olympics roster spot.

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