Hamm-er blow for USA

America's Olympic all-round gymnastics champion Paul Hamm will not be able to defend his gold medal in Beijing after succumbing to a hand injury.

Hamm broke his hand at the US National Championships in May and despite a big effort to regain his fitness in time he has now announced he is withdrawing from the team for Beijing.

Not only is Hamm's hand not fully recovered but in his efforts to get fit quickly again he has hurt a rotator cuff.

One of Sasha Artemev, David Durante and Raj Bhavsar will take Hamm's place in the US gymnastics team for the competition that starts on August 9.

Hamm had looked in decent form when returning to action in July 19 inter-squad meet, but that took its toll and the after effects forced him to pull out of the Olympics.

Statement

"I have put my heart and soul into my comeback and done everything I could to get ready in time to compete in Beijing," Hamm said in a statement released by USA Gymnastics.

"After returning home from the preparation camp, I had a few physical setbacks, and it became clear to me that my physical preparations would not be sufficient to properly represent the United States and contribute to the team's efforts to win a medal.

"At this point in time, the success of the team and fairness to the team, and the alternates, is most important.

"While I am very disappointed, I feel I can wait no longer to make this decision."

Hamm's withdrawal will be a huge blow to the US gym team, after he became the first and only American in Olympic history to win all-round gold in Athens four years ago.

Although that was a controversial win, with judges miscalculating the points of eventual bronze medallist Yang Tae-Young, Hamm was expected to challenge for gold again with China's Yang Wei.

Comeback

After taking an unprecedented 18-month break after Athens, Hamm returned to the sport as strong as ever as he won every meeting he entered in 2008.

As he misses out on the Olympics though, it looks like the end of his career as one of the best US gymnasts of all-time, with a World Championship gold and Olympic team silver also in his locker.

"We admire Paul for making this difficult decision," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.

"Paul's comeback this year has been phenomenal, made even more impressive following the injury to his hand."

Hamm had been flying through the National Championships and was well ahead after five events before he broke a metacarpal in his right ring finger whilst on the parallel bars.