Canadian gymnast Felix Dolci suffered a scary moment at the Olympics after an ‘equipment malfunction’ sent him flying off the horizontal bar and crashing into the floor.
Dolci was into his final few apparatus in the men’s all-round gymnastics final when he suffered a huge and nasty fall on the bars.
The 22-year-old made a strong start to his routine and was picking up speed when his handguard split, causing him to lose grip and go flying.
Momentum sent Dolci into a somersault before he crashed into the safety mat, prompting audible gasps from the fans inside the Bercy Arena and the BBC commentary team.
‘Oh dear!’ BBC commentator Matt Baker exclaimed after the scary incident. ‘His handguard has split.
‘Well, goodness me. He was lucky there because that could have caused himself a very, very nasty injury. Hopefully he’s alright. What an unbelievable shock.’
Dolci understandably looked shocked as he gathered his composure on the floor as members of the Canadian coaching team came over to check in on him.
After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Dolci confirmed to his team that he was okay, though he sported a nasty cut on his right hand that hampered the rest of his performance.
Rather impressively, Dolci then found a new set of handguards and resumed his routine.
‘Huge respect on every level for Felix Dolci,’ Baker added.
‘His competition was going so, so well. It is so unlucky for him [that he fell]. What a shame.’
Commonwealth Games gold winner Craig Heap added: ‘As a gymnast there is so much force through the hands and the guards.
‘You go through a set of guards every couple of months. I always had a spare pair of guards in my bag just in case.’
Dolci was not the only gymnast to suffer a nasty fall in the Olympic final, with Australia’s Jesse Moore also hitting the deck after a mistake on the horizontal bar.
More to follow…
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