Alicia Sacramone Injures Achilles’ Tendon, Not in Lineup

Olympic gymnastics captain Alicia Sacramone was not on the lineup in Beijing today.

Sacramone, 23, reportedly injured her right Achilles’ tendon during practice on Thursday. The athlete was landing a double Arabian at the time the injury occurred, and Sacramone is being evaluated by doctors to determine the severity of the setback. Sacramone’s absence is expected to strike the US team hard, as she is proficient in several events. Sports Illustrated explains:

Losing Sacramone is a huge blow for the Americans, who prize the 23-year-old as much for her veteran leadership as her big scores on vault, where she’s the defending world champion, balance beam and floor exercise. She was one of only two Americans who’d competed at worlds before – Aly Raisman was on last year’s silver-medal squad – and she considered keeping the rookies calm and focused as important as anything she did on the floor.

The mag points out that this isn’t the first time the US has had to forge ahead in international competition without key athletes. In 2003, three team members were sidelined by injuries, but the team went on to win their first world title. While the US is expected to qualify for the Olympics in London next year, rating a medal now- when they were originally hoping to earn gold or silver- will prove a challenge without Sacramone’s contribution.

In addition to Sacramone, uneven bars specialist Anna Li is also out due to an abdominal injury, placing far more pressure on the five remaining team members- Jordyn Wieber, Aliya Mustafina, McKayla Maroney, Sabrina Vega and Gabby Douglas to perform flawlessly. Should the team achieve a medal, Sacramone would as well- tying her for most medals won by an American with Shannon Miller and Nastia Liukin.