Deadly falldown may paralyze Chinese gymnast Wang

Chinese gymnast Wang Yan, only 15, may suffer a paralysis after she broke her neck in an accidental falldown from uneven bars at the national championship, an insider from the diagnosis group revealed on Tuesday.

Wang, in a local hospital specializing in bones injury, was diagnosed fracture and dislocation in the second and third spinal bones, according to the source who is unwilling to be named.

"It's a fatal portion of the body. The symptom of dropsy and bruise is obvious on the neck and only the right foot can make slight moves at the moment," said the source, adding that the patient is still unconscious, but is out of death threat.

Wang Yan fell down to her head from the high bar in the women's qualifier of the national championship on Sunday and plunged into coma on the cushion.

The team doctor came up to diagnose but couldn't get any reaction from Wang. She failed to make a move with eyes closed and needed an oxygen assistance at the spot.

"It's a very serious injury. The patient could not react to stimulant under the chest bone and both hands lost the capability to move. The symptom is very similar to top marrow damage, which could result in a death rate of 98.5 percentage according to the statistics," said Jia Lianshun, the chief in bone study institute of PLA (People's Liberation Army), who witnessed the diagnosis.

"What's lucky for her is she revived the function in the right leg and foot. With appropriate medical treatment, it's possible to recover part of the physical function."

"The doctors have been carrying out intensive medication to the girl and the possibility for operation can come only when the physical condition get improved."

Wang stumbled on the high bar on her dismount as she was trying somersaults on the uneven bars. As the on-spot teammates suggested, the whole body lost balance when Wang tripped over the bar on her dismount action.

"It's much different from the usual mistakes as there is no time for the practitioner to react or to take any protective movement," said He Ning, Wang's teammate.

"If Wang Yan could stretch her leg or arm to touch the cushion first, it might ease the wallop by a large margin, but it's the head down on bumping. The neck could not bear the collision at all."

China's head coach for women's team Lu Shanzhen said Wang was getting tranquilized in hospital, but it was too early to tell how far she could pull through.

Wang's injury reminds a similar case nine years ago when Chinese girl Sang Lan paralyzed herself as she lost balance in vault warm-up in New York Goodwill Games in 1998. Sang was disturbed by a foreign coach, who poked out his head to the vault at the moment when Sang was making a vault trial.

Sang tumbled over her head and got paralyzed for the accident.

The national gymnastics championship is the first tournament for China's squad pick-up in the Olympic Games and world championship, which is slated to play on June 9 to 18.