American gymnast and reigning gold medalist Paul Hamm will has withdrawn from the 2008 Olympic games after straining his left rotator cuff and also due to the pain he has been dealing with after breaking his right hand 2 months ago.

“There came a point in the gym where I almost threw my arms in the air and just knew, this wasn’t working,” the 25-year-old Hamm said. “It was a really tough decision for me to make. You could drag this out even further. But what I know with my body and what I feel, there’s no point for me to do that. It’s not in the best interest of everyone involved.”

Hamm has known for awhile that he probably wouldn’t be able to compete in the Beijing olympics but he kept thinking his injuries would heal in quickly.

“I was giving myself the chance to see how this past week went, to see if I could turn the corner at any point. That just never happened,” Hamm said. “When you go into the Olympic Games, you’re supposed to be in the best shape of your life. Not the worst shape.”

Hamm was one of the best Olympic athletes representing the United States this year and we might suffer in gymnastics without him.