Rafael Nadal’s Knee Injury

Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis tournament because of a knee injury. Nadal has been suffering from tendonitis of the right knee for over a month and following two unsuccessful exhibition matches and a failed fitness test he decided to withdraw.

Tendonitis is not the only sports injury that Rafa Nadal has been suffering from. His problems began with tendon damage to his knee earlier in the year and this led to his early defeat in the French Open and his withdrawal from subsequent tennis tournaments.

Since then he has been diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps. Yet despite the varying knee pain Nadal has been suffering from he has publicly stated that his injuries are not career threatening.

His absence from Wimbledon means that Roger Federer and Andy Murray are now tournament favourites.

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Mizuki Noguchi injury

Defending Olympic marathon champion pulls out of Beijing games because of thigh and groin injuries

Japanese Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi has withdrawn from the marathon in Beijing, citing thigh and groin injuries as the reason.

Noguchi, who was aiming to be the first woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic marathons, has been dogged with injuries since winning gold at Athens in 2004 but was cleared to compete in Beijing after a series of tests before this latest setback.

Thigh and groin injuries

Marathon runners like Mizuki Noguchi are highly susceptible to lower limb injuries such as thigh pulls and groin strain.

Unless fully recovered, it is likely that Noguchi would have done further damage by competing. The injuries would also have seriously hampered her performace as the race progressed, meaning it is unlikely she would have claimed the second straight Olympic gold she was hoping for.

Watch Mizuki Noguchi claim gold in Athens in the video below:

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John Steffensen injury

John Steffensen withdraws from the Olympics 400m because of injury

Australian John Steffensen has pulled out of the 400m in Beijing because of ongoing hamstring injuries.

The current Commonwealth champion does still hope to take part at the Olympics by being part of the 4x400m relay team.

Hamstring injuries

The 400 metres requires athletes to sprint for the duration of the race, which can put tremendous strain on all of the leg muscles and is always likely to cause injuries like pulled or torn hamstrings.

400m runners like John Steffensen frequently experience hamstring pain because of the rapid acceleration required off the start line.

Because hamstring injuries require rest, it means athletes can fall behind in their training programme which is exactly what has happened to John Steffensen.

Watch John Steffensen in 400m action in the video below:

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Janos Baranyai injury

Hungarian weightlifter suffers horrific injury at Beijing Olympics

Janos Baranyai's Olympic campaign ended in agony after he suffered a dislocated elbow during the snatch discipline of the weightlifting competetion.

The 24-year-old, competing in his first Olympics, collapsed on the floor trying to snatch 148kg with his elbow twisted backwards.

Elbow injuries

The snapping movement involved with the snatch can cause many elbow injuries. The huge wieght that Janos Baranyai was lifting simply caused his elbow to fall out of its socket, unable to cope with the pressure being put on the joint.

Watch Janos Baranyai's horrific injury in the video below:

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Lindsay Davenport injury

Lindsay Davenport withdraws from Olympics with knee injury

Former Olympic tennis champion, Lindsay Davenport has pulled out of the female singles competition in Beijing after aggravating a knee injury.

Davenport, who won gold at the 1996 Olympics, picked up the knee injury prior to Wimbledon forcing her to pull out after the first round.

The US team had hoped Davenport could compete in Beijing but the former champion doesn't feel able to cope with the rigours of the singles tournament. However, she does hope to be fit enough to play in the mixed doubles competition.

Knee injuries

The high levels of running, twisting and bending required to play tennis at the highest level puts tremendous strain on the knee. Tennis players are always at risk of knee injuries and will often find it hard to return to their best, if they suffer serious knee damage.

Watch Lindsay Davenport in action in the video below:

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Jelena Jankovic injury

Jelena Jankovic will take part in Olympics after overcoming knee injury

Female tennis star Jelena Jankovic has managed to get herself fit in time for the Beijing Olympics, despite being told she wouldn't have time to do so.

Jankovic, who is set to be announced as world number one during the Olympics, was told by doctors she would need at least two months to recover from a knee cartilage problem but has returned in half that time.

Knee cartilage injuries

Jelena Jankovic has been lucky in that she has managed to avoid surgery on her knee, meaning this is a less serious knee cartilage problem.

For minor knee cartilage injuries, taking the weight off the knee and resting will normally be enough to repair the damage. Physiotherapy and flexibility exercises can also aid recovery and get an athlete back in training sooner than expected.

Tennis players are particularly susceptible to knee injuries because of the rapid changes of direction and bending required to make different shots.

Watch Jelena Jankovic in action in the video below:

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Morgan Hamm injury

Both Hamm brothers miss the Beijing Olympics after Morgan pulls out

Morgan Hamm is out of the Olympics after injuring his left ankle in a training session just days before the start of the games.

The gymnast left ankle was already injured prior to leaving for Beijing but the US team had hoped he could compete through the pain to aid their cause.

He now joins his brother Paul Hamm on the sidelines, leaving the US team with no prior Olympic experience.

Ankle injuries

Morgan Hamm's ankle injury was always likely to return at some point, given that he hadn't had adequate time to properly rehabilitate the injured area.

Gymnasts pick up ankle injuries frequently, especially when landing hard on the mat following a complex routine.

Watch Morgan Hamm in the 2008 Olympic trials in the video below:

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Liu Xiang injury

China's defending champion withdraws from 110m hurdles

Liu Xiang's Olympics came to a premature end after the reigning champion was forced to pull out of the 100m hurdles with an Achilles tendon injury.

Xiang, 25, became the first Chinese male athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal in Athens and the home crowd had high expectations of a repeat performance.

However, after another athlete produced a false-start, Xiang quickly pulled-up and was visibily experiencing a great deal of pain and was unable to continue.

Achilles tendon injuries

For runners and hurdlers in particular, Achilles tendon injuries are incredibly common. The Achilles tendon is the tissue that connects the heel to the muscles of the lower leg and hurdlers often damage this area.

Hurdlers like Liu Xiang put tremendous strain on their Achilles tendons, particularly when accelerating up to full speed and then springing over the hurdles.

Watch Liu Xiang pull-up after a false start in the video below:

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Gary Russell Jr injury

US boxer out of the Olympics after being found passed out with dehydration

Gary Russell Jr is out of the Beijing Olympics after being deemed unfit to compete following a frantic rush to make weight.

Russell Jr, found that he was two pounds overweight to compete at the required 119 for Bantamweight and had just hours to drop down. Unfortunately, in attempting to do so, Russell passed out from dehydration following a long and exhaustive run.

Hydration and Dehydration

In sports like wrestling and boxing where athletes need to reach a certain weight, it can create unhealthy training conditions where athletes must take drastic measures to hit their targets.

A quick-fire method of losing weight is to reduce the amount of water in the body, but unfortunately this nearly always leads to dehydration, as was the case with Gary Russell Jr.

Watch Gary Russell Jr sparring ahead of the Beijing Olympics in the video below:

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Michaela Breeze injury

British weightlifter finishes seventh despite competing with back injury

Michaela Breeze, the British representative in the female weightlifting competition at the Beijing Olympics, finished seventh after completing the competition despite a severe back injury.

Breeze went into the competition with the injury but was determined to finish despite experiencing chronic back pain throughout. She fell to the floor and wept after finishing the competition and recieved a standing ovation from the crowd.

Back injuries

Weightlifters like Michaela Breeze put a tremendous amount of strain on all the muscles in their body, especially the back.

The snatch and the clean and jerk routines both require an immense amount of back strength and as Breeze entered the competition already experiencing back problems, she was always likely to aggrevate the injury.

Watch an example of the clean and jerk in the video below:

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