By Sonia OxleyPosted 2008/08/07 at 12:10 pm EDT
BEIJING, Aug. 7, 2008 (Reuters) — American Morgan Hamm pulled out of the Olympics on Thursday because of an ankle injury. "Right now I am unable to perform my tumbling skills at the level I need to," the 25-year-old, whose brother Paul Hamm also withdrew from the Games injured, said in a statement.
"This has an impact on my ability to contribute to the team's goals and I believe by continuing, I would be putting myself at further risk."
Alexander Artemev was named as his replacement.
Morgan was the only survivor of the 2004 Olympic silver-medal winning men's team who had traveled to Beijing for this year's Olympics.
But like his twin Paul, the 2004 all-round champion, Morgan felt he was not fit enough to contribute to the team's medal hopes.
"I have been dealing with this for the last year and it recently gotten worse here in Beijing," said the two-time Olympian.
USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny added: "He has done everything he could to contribute to this team ... and we appreciate his putting the team interests first."
Morgan's withdrawal comes just a day after he said Paul was considering coming to Beijing to see him compete.
Morgan was included in the U.S. team despite receiving a public warning from the United States Anti Doping Agency
(USADA).
He used prescribed anti-inflammatory medication under the care of a physician but USADA said he had done so without first seeking a therapeutic use exemption as required by the rules.
Morgan tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide, a glucocorticosteroid, on May 24, 2008, but was eventually cleared to compete.
(Writing by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Alison Wiliams)
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