Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    By sportswriters Li Li and Chen Yu

    BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Olympic gymnast Chellsie Memmel was injured in Sunday's training in Beijing, adding to the misery of the US team already hit by Olympic champion Paul Hamm's exit.

    Sun Yuejin, US gymnastics squad's coordinator, told Xinhua that the 2005 all-around world champion picked up an unexpected injury while training with the American women's team in Beijing's National Indoor Stadium on Sunday morning, five days before the 2008 Games.

    "I don't know now where and how serious the injury is, but she should still be able to compete in the Olympics," he said.

    He also said that the team might discuss her injury later in the evening.

    Memmel's injury is yet another blow to the Americans after Paul, men's all-around gold medallist in Athens, was forced to withdraw from the Olympic team on Monday, failing to recover in time from a hand injury sustained in May.

    The American women were expected to offer stiff competition against the hosts but Memmel's injury may give more chance to the Chinese, bidding for a medal haul on home soil.

    "We didn't know that. We're sorry to hear that," said the Chinese team spokesman Zhang Peiwen.

    "She's a very good gymnast and I hope everything will be OK for her."

    Zhang denied that would add China's chance for the Olympic title.

    "The Americans are a very strong team. I think all we can do is to focus on our own competition, get prepared and try our best," he said.

    Memmel won her first individual world title on women's all-around in Melbourne in 2005 by edging her compatriot Nastia Liukin by 0.001 points, but she was unable to defend it the next year after a fall from uneven bars in women's team final hurt her right shoulder.

    Sun said that he was not sure whether Memmel is suffering a recurring injury but thought that it would affect her performance more or less.

    "It's such a pity, both to her and the team.

    "I think she's still competing but don't know if in all-around.

    "She's been so wonderful on apparatus, always having the sparkles and giving her best," he added.

    The US women's star-studded lineup also includes all-around world champion Shawn Johnson and Liukin, who has collected nine medals in her three world championships.

    The reigning world champion team was runner-up to Romania in the Athens Olympics before losing to China in the 2006 championships in Aarhus, Denmark.