Neither Hamm brother will be competing in this year's Olympic Games in Beijing. Both Paul and Morgan will sit out with injuries which disallow proper performance.
Morgan announced on Thursday that bone spurs in his ankle made it impossible for him to perform his floor routine or compete to the best of his ability. He then made his decision whether or not to participate.
"This has been an extremely hard decision for me to make. I've given everything I can to be ready to compete at this Olympic Games," Hamm said. "It's best for me to step down and have another athlete fill my position. This is something for me that's very tough because it's the end of my career, and it's not the way I had planned it."
Paul publicized a few weeks before the Olympics that he too would not be competing as he was still nursing a broken hand and strained a rotator cuff in his shoulder.
The two former Buckeyes both have had extreme success in their past Olympic endeavors. Paul won gold in 2004 at the all-around competition and Morgan helped the United States obtain a sliver medal in the team competition. Morgan was the highest scorer amongst the U.S. squad.
Morgan has had an injury-plagued career since making the Olympic squad in 2000. In 2001, Hamm damaged a nerve in his shoulder and lost much of its feeling.
He slowly recovered but never regained full strength in the shoulder but still managed to help the team win silver.
After the 2004 Olympics, Morgan and Paul took time out of their gymnastic careers to complete their degrees at Ohio State before returning to qualify for the 2008 games.
Without the Hamm brothers, the U.S. men's gymnastic team is without any Olympic experience.
David Sokol can be reached at sokol.26@osu.edu.
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