Jordyn Wieber Leg Injury: Gymnast May Have Stress Fracture

Jordyn Wieber came to the Olympics hoping for gold, while at the same time suffering an apparent leg injury. Wieber, who finished seventh in the floor exercise final on Tuesday, will be going home with her aching right leg encased in a protective boot, while questions linger over what could have been.

Wieber’s coach, John Geddert, spoke about the 17-year-old’s suspected stress fracture in the run-up to the games, reports ESPN. Geddert stated:

“We can’t do the numbers, we couldn’t train. I had to set her down on a lot of landings. We couldn’t do beam dismounts. We had to cut back on things and water down. But it is what it is.”

The US Olympic gymnast tried to downplay the injury, telling everyone “it’s fine,” and that it wasn’t painful enough to keep her from performing, but at the same time, she lacked her usual precision on the floor exercise, which is arguably her best event.

Wieber suffered heartbreak in the individual all-around finals after placing fourth overall, but third in the US team, keeping her from competing in the event she was favored to win, reports The Huffington Post.

While wearing her warm-up jacket, Jordyn Wieber watched Gabby Douglas win the gold medal she thought would be hers. She stated:

“It was tough sitting in the stands watching because 100 percent of me wanted to be out there competing. But you know, I’ve just got to follow the rules. It stinks but that’s the way it turned out.”

There is still a chance that we could see Jordyn Wieber in another gymnastics competition, as she will compete at least through the world championships in Belgium next year, and could even consider the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero. Geddert stated of his pupil that:

“Not fulfilling her dreams here might add a little fuel to the fire. A lot of those kids, they’re all cut from the same cloth. They all get a little bit hungry when they don’t achieve what they want to get done.”

Do you hope that Jordyn Wieber will compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero?