French medal hope suffers gruesome injury on vault

French gymnast Samir Ait Said suffered a horrific double leg fracture at the Rio Olympics on Saturday while competing in the men’s vault qualifying.

Samir Ait Said of France is placed on a stretcher after breaking his leg while competing in men's vault at Rio Olympics on Saturday. Antonin Thuillier/AFP

The 26-year-old executed a somersault over the vault and landed heavily on his left leg which immediately snapped under his weight. Said fell on the mat in agony as the lower part of his leg dangled out much to the horror of the crowd.

The French delegation later confirmed he had suffered a double tibia and fibula fracture.

He was treated by medical staff for several minutes before being stretchered off to applause from the crowd.

It is the second Olympic blow for the gymnast from Antibes who missed the London Games because of a knee injury.

Fellow gymnasts were visibly shocked.

American Danell Leyva, the 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medallist, added: “I heard other gymnasts say 'don't look, don't look.”

“Even though we're on different teams we know each other and I've known Samir since I was 14. It really sucks, but we have a job to do.”

“I was warming up when I saw it on TV,” said Germany's Fabien Hambuechen, a silver medallist from London 2012 on the horizonal bar. “There's always more difficult, higher risk. It's getting dangerous," said Hambuechen.

Rings specialist Ait Said, a former European champion, was France’s leading medal hope on the rings apparatus in Rio.

He had been third overall on rings with a score of 15.533 in early qualifying behind world champion Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece and Olympic champion Arthur Zanetti of Brazil.

The French gymnastics federation said Ait Said underwent surgery in Rio during the night which went well.

"The operation was good, he woke up at 6.00am," said former teammate Hamilton Sabot on Twitter.