Uchimura eliminated at gym Worlds with injury

Montreal (Canada), Oct. 3: Kohei Uchimura’s eightyear reign as the undisputed king of gymnastics came to a dramatic end on Monday after the hobbling Japanese star was eliminated during qualifiers at the World Championships. Reigning Olympic champion Uchimura, who had been chasing a remarkable seventh straight individual all-around title in Montreal, saw his hopes go up in smoke after the vault rotation.

After a superb jump, he could be seen clutching his left ankle and was in visible discomfort as he limped away from the podium.

He bravely grimaced his way through the parallel bars routine but stumbled badly on his landing, clearly struggling with his lower leg.

The two-time Olympic champion then scratched from the horizontal high bar, ending his attempted defence of a title he has held since triumphing at the 2009 World Championships in London.

“I feel very sorry for the people who came to support me,” Uchimura told NBC Sports in an interview.

“I apologise to my teammates,” he added, revealing that he feared the worst after the vault.

“After the vault, I couldn’t even walk. I just wanted to keep trying to finish the competition,” he added.

Uchimura was later seen on crutches as he gave support to his Japan teammates.

Uchimura admitting that after nearly a decade at the pinnacle of his sport he was finding it harder and harder to arrive in peak form.

“When I participated at the World Championships for the first time, I was 20 years old, and now I’m 28 now and at my seventh Worlds. So the question of age is a new element,” Uchimura had said.