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Olympic contender Blakely hurt in training for US gymnastics trials

Skye Blakely competes on balance beam during the US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas (ELSA)
Skye Blakely competes on balance beam during the US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas (ELSA)

Skye Blakely, a two-time team world champion expected to contend for a Paris berth at the US Olympic gymnastics trials, was hurt in floor exercise training on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old from Texas completed a tumbling pass and fell to the mat at Target Center and was promptly attended by medical staff before being carried off the podium and departing the arena in a wheelchair with an apparent leg injury.

There was no immediate update on her status for the trials, with women's competition scheduled for Friday and Sunday and the five-woman team for Paris to be named on Sunday night.

Blakely arrived in Minneapolis off a runner-up finish to Simone Biles earlier this month at the US championships in Fort Worth, Texas, where she unveiled a more difficult vault that made her the only woman besides Biles to post a 15-point apparatus score.

In 2021, Blakely was hurt warming up on vault shortly before competition began at the trials for the Tokyo Games, although that year she was a 16-year-old up-and-comer who was not considered a favorite to make the team.

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