Samir Ait Said of France raises his arm to the crowd as he is stretchered off after breaking his leg. Credit:Scott Halleran Said, obviously in excruciating pain, immediately put his hand over his face and clutched the back of his left knee, as the bottom of his left leg dangled out at an unnatural angle. Television cameras cut away quickly, as the seriousness of the injury became apparent. The sound of the break could be heard in live coverage of the event. Medical teams rushed to the gymnast's aid as he lay in agony on the landing mat, his Olympic dreams in tatters. Said later posted a Facebook video from his hospital bed thanking people for the outpouring of support and vowing to return to the sport.

Samir Ait Said has undergone surgery to repair the bad break. Credit:Alex Livesey "It really warmed my heart - it helped me and raised my spirits," he said. "As you all know from the media I have an open tibia and fibula fracture - lovely! That required an operation here. Samir Ait Said in agony after breaking his leg while attempting to land a vault. Credit:Rebecca Blackwell "The operation went very well and I can be back on my feet quite soon, relatively. So it's gone well and I'm happy.

"I will be going back to the arena soon to cheer on my friends because the competition hasn't finished yet. And I can add to the support with my blue, white and red cast. Come on France!" Samir Ait Said broke his leg while competing on the vault. Credit:Scott Halleran Said underwent surgery on Saturday night local time to repair the tibia he fractured while trying to land on vault.The image of his leg bent grotesquely shocked TV viewers around the world. Said praised his French teammates, some of whom managed to qualify for event finals later this week despite being visibly rattled after watching Said leave the Rio Olympic Arena on a stretcher.

"I'm behind all my pals," Said said."They managed to keep their act together after my fall. That must have been really difficult. They were real warriors. So come on boys, be strong, I'm with you." Said plans to return to the arena as a spectator and has not ruled out making a run at the 2020 games in Tokyo. "Believe me the adventure of Tokyo 2020 is still possible," he said. Loading "And as soon as I'm back on my feet I'll be back in training and searching for that Olympic gold."

Stuff, Fairfax Media