Morgan Hamm out of Olympics with ankle injury

The bone spurs digging into his left leg made it impossible for him to tumble, and giving up his spot on the U.S. men's gymnastics team was the right thing to do-the only thing to do. That didn't make it hurt any less.

Hamm withdrew Thursday, two days before competition begins. He aggravated a chronic injury in his left ankle during training in Beijing, and it never responded to treatment. He clearly struggled on floor exercise during the men's training session Wednesday, and it wasn't any better Thursday.

"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 end of my career, and it's not the way I had planned it."

Nothing about these Olympics has gone the way Hamm and his twin brother, Paul, planned it. Not for the Americans, either.

The 22-year-old Artemev was chosen Thursday for the squad hours after Hamm withdrew because of a left ankle injury. Artemev is the second alternate to be put on the team. Raj Bhavsar replaced Morgan Hamm's twin brother, Paul, last week.

Artemev, the 2006 national champion, was the bronze medalist on pommel horse at the 2006 world championships, but struggled with consistency at nationals and the Olympic trials, where he botched three of four routines. He was chosen over David Durante as Hamm's replacement and already was training in Beijing.