Olympic gymnastics horror as athlete left bloodied by 'never-seen-before' equipment malfunction

Felix Dolci of Canada was left bloodied after his handguard snapped during a high bar routine in the men's all-around gymnastics final at the 2024 Olympics . The 22-year-old suffered a heavy fall as a result of the freak accident and hit the mat again on his retry before completing the routine to a roaring ovation.

Dolci showcased impressive execution on the high bar before plummetting to the floor on his dismount due to the snapped handguard , leaving the bar reverberating.

He was treated on the mat before surrendering to the Canadian area, where his coaches and team-mate Rene Cournoyer consoled him.

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Cameras showed one member of Canadian staff holding a cloth with blood on it while Dolci grimaced as he looked at his cut-up hand.

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Dolci's event was going to plan before that, scoring 14.366 on the vault and 14.333 on the parallel bars before the incredibly unfortunate incident.

Matt Baker, on commentary for the BBC, couldn't believe what he had witnessed but praised the gymnast for preventing a serious injury after being flung into the air.

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"Oh dear me. His hand guard has split. Well goodness me. I tell you what, he did incredibly well there, he could've caused himself a very, very nasty injury," Baker said.

"Hopefully he's alright. He's going to need some time because that will have been an unbelievable shock to him. There's an obvious technical error there isn't there."

"Oh my goodness me, Felix. Unbelievable. This happens in the training gym but I have never seen that in a competition."

Dolci took around 15 minutes to cool off after the incident before bravely accepting an offer to return to the high bar to attempt to complete his routine - due to the equipment malfunction.

But his injured hands took their toll on his second effort as he dropped onto the mat again before looking at them in disappointment.

It was then a case of third time lucky, finally completing his contribution and receiving huge cheers from those in attendance at the Bercy Arena.

Baker again hailed Dolci for his perseverance while damning the unfortunate circumstances that derailed his competition.

He added: "Huge respect on every level for Felix Dolci. I can't believe what's happened to him."

"His competition was going so, so well. That is just so unlucky mate. So unlucky. Look at his hand! What a shame."

Dolci scored 11.733 for his high bar, leaving him last among the 24 competitors with a combined score of 40.432 after three routines.