18 June, 2012

The Chinese Cheng Fei RUPTURES ACHILLES

Cheng Fei - CHNThree-time world vault champion Cheng Fei has ruptured her Achilles tendon, taking her out of the running for a third Olympics in London.
The Chinese star, the captain of the gold medal team in Beijing four years ago, had an operation to repair a ruptured Achilles and would miss the Olympics. Her coach, Lu Shanzhen, confirmed on his microblog that Cheng had surgery.
The 24-year-old Cheng was a mainstay of the Chinese team at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She returned to international competition for the first time in three years last month, winning the vault title at the World Cup in China.
Cheng Fei’s Achilles has given her problems since beginning her comeback in 2011.  She had dealt with the pain, and looked to be a contender for the Chinese Olympic team, able to offset the team’s weakness on vault and floor.
Cheng is a world-class vaulter, winning World Championship gold on the event from 2005-2007, and becoming the first woman to perform the “Cheng”, a half-on, 1 1/2 twisting front off, which now bears her name.  At the Beijing Olympics, Cheng Fei won a gold medal with the Chinese team, as well as bronze medals on vault and beam.
Cheng Fei won vault at the Chinese Nationals earlier this year

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheng Fei - CHN