Breaking news – and not good news at all for fans of the sport – London 2012 Olympic Silver medallist Javier Gomez is [UPDATE] reported to be out of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after breaking his arm in a bike fall.
Spanish news website ABC is reporting the news that a fractured radius requires surgery and will mean no third Olympic Games for the five time ITU World Champion.
Javier comments (translated) in that article:
“It is difficult to understand how suddenly goes all the effort and enthusiasm that I put in the Olympics. It may be the hardest moment of my sporting life. But I have no choice but to accept it and think about having a good and rapid rehabilitation.”
Reaction from British Triathlon
We’ve managed to get an initial reaction from British Triathlon Performance Director, Brendan Purcell, to the news:
“That really is terrible news to hear. Javier is such a talented athlete, and you want the best athletes to be racing on the biggest stage.
While Javier is perhaps the biggest threat and rival to Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee’s prospects, his presence would also be an asset. As such a strong all-round athlete, having Javier there increases the prospects of a small, breakaway group at the front of the race, making it much harder for some of the slightly weaker swimmers to get back into the race later.
Sincere best wishes to Javier on his recovery.”