AMERICAN gymnast Sam Cerio sickeningly broke both legs while performing a complex floor routine at the Baton Rouge Regional on Friday.

The Auburn University senior attempted a handspring double front flip with a blind landing before falling awkwardly on the mat and suffering the horrific injury.

7 US gymnast Sam Cerio suffered a gruesome double leg break while performing a complicated floor routine

7 But she fell awkwardly on the blind landing, dislocating both her legs

The aerospace engineering student was attempting her first pass at the Baton Rouge Regional before her floor routine ended in horror.

While performing the handspring double she fell on the blind landing, dislocating both her legs and then grabbed her knees in agony, leaving the stunned crowd in silence.

The gymnast screamed in pain before medical staff and athletic trainers rallied towards her to offer treatment.

The exact extent of her injury is not yet known, but it is suspected Cerio broke both her legs and dislocated both knees.

Cerio was rushed to hospital to undergo surgery on both knees, which her coach later revealed had been a success.

She then announced her retirement from the sport in a moving Instagram post.

Sam wrote: "Friday night was my final night as a gymnast.

"After 18 years I am hanging up my grips and leaving the chalk behind.

"I couldn’t be prouder of the person that gymnastics has made me to become.

"It’s taught me hard work, humility, integrity, and dedication, just to name a few.

I couldn’t be prouder of the person that gymnastics has made me to become US gymnast Sam Cerio

"It’s given me challenges and road blocks that I would have never imagined that has tested who I am as a person.

"It may not have ended the way I had planned, but nothing ever goes as planned.

"Thank you Auburn family for giving me a home and a chance to continue doing the sport that will always be my first love.

"I am honored to have had the privilege to represent the navy and orange AU for the past 4 years with my team by my side.

"Thank you for letting me share my passion with you.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of something bigger than myself.

"War Eagle Always."



BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

Auburn finished the night with the highest regional score in program history, advancing to the regional finals on Saturday.

But they finished fourth in the last stage of the tournament, behind Louisiana, Minnesota and Utah, failing to reach the nationals.

Auburn coach Jeff Graba said after the event: "It was pretty tough to watch.

"She’s a trouper. The last thing she said was, ‘Go help the girls.’ The girls rallied around her. They’re doing this for her right now.

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"We wanted more than anything to do this for her."

In a second tweet on Tuesday, updating fans on her condition, Graba wrote: “Sam’s surgery lasted two and a half hours and was an extreme success.

"We know the road for full healing is going to be a long and difficult one, but we are confident that she’ll be able to make a complete recovery.”

Cerio was named SEC co-scholar athlete of the year and will graduate this year with an engineering degree.

She is also getting married in Alabama in June, before taking up a job at Boeing in Seattle.

7 Cerio is due to get married this summer Credit: Instagram

7 The student will tie the knot in Alabama Credit: Instagram

7 Cerio was named SEC co-scholar athlete of the year at Auburn Credit: Instagram

7 Having retired from gymnastics, Sam will graduate this year with a degree in aerospace engineering Credit: Instagram