Samir Ait Said’s leg may be shattered but his spirit isn’t.
The French gymnast posted a video Sunday morning thanking people for their support and assuring them he was fine. He’s already had surgery to repair his broken tibia and plans to be at the gymnastics arena when his teammates compete again – complete with his new red and blue cast.
“So come on France, I’m behind all my pals,” Ait Said said in the video, posted on his Facebook page.
Ait Said drew worldwide attention after his horrific injury Saturday. He shattered his left leg on his vault landing, the sharp crack able to be heard throughout the arena. As he rolled over, clutching his leg just below the knee, his foot and the lower half of his shin dangled in the opposite direction of the rest of his leg.
Ait Said didn’t make a sound as medical personnel worked on him. The only sign he was in pain was a slight grimace before he covered his face with his hand.
“As you know through the media I have an open fracture of the tibea, not very nice,” he said. “That meant an operation straightaway. It went fine.”
Medical personnel stabilized his leg before taking him from the arena, but video showed they dropped one end of the stretcher as they loaded him into the ambulance.
The injury was devastating for the French team, both because of the severity of the injury and Ait Said’s history of tough luck. He missed the 2012 Olympics after breaking his other tibia in three places — also on vault — at the European championships a few months before the Games.
France finished last of the 12 teams and didn’t qualify for Monday night’s team final. Ait Said qualified for the final on still rings, where he was fourth at last year’s world championships, but obviously won’t be able to compete.
That means France’s lone chance for a medal now rests with Cyril Tommasone, who qualified for the pommel horse final.
Still, Ait Said she was proud of his teammates for keeping their composure and finishing the competition.
“That must have been really difficult,” he said. “They were real warriors. So come on boys, be strong, I’m with you.”
And don’t worry about him, Ait Said said, he’ll be back for Tokyo 2020.
“The adventure of Tokyo 2020 is still possible,” he said. “As soon as I’m back on my feet I’ll be back in training and searching for that Olympic gold.”
