Olympic Rings Champion Chen Yibing Suffers Knee Injury

Olympic Rings Champion Chen Yibing Suffers Knee Injury

Jul 15, 2012 by Anne Phillips
Olympic Rings Champion Chen Yibing Suffers Knee Injury
According to xinhuanet news, defending World and Olympic Champion on Still Rings, Chen Yibing of China, suffered an injury to his knee on Saturday while training with the Chinese men's team in Northern Ireland.

Chen won the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, along with a team gold medal with the Chinese men. He has won world titles on the event in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011. 

Currently, Chen competes a routine with a 6.8 difficulty score, and is one of few athletes to break 16.0 on the event. He is the strong favorite to defend his Olympic title in London.

Chen sustained the injury while vaulting in training. He was later sent to a local hospital and team doctor believed it was meniscus damage.

After an MRI, Ye Zhennan, team leader of the Chinese gymnastic squad, stated, "the injury in his knee is not very serious with no swelling". MRI results will come out on Monday. 

"It was just a small accident," said Chen who remains optimistic after the injury. "With two weeks left before the competitions, I believe I can recover in time."