Olympic athlete suffers horror injury while celebrating medal

Winning an Olympic medal is the highlight of most athletes careers, with celebrations often unrivalled and over joyous.

But for one competitor at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the moment was marred by a horrific injury that left him rolling in pain and grabbing his body.

Adil Osmanov roared as he won a bronze medal in the Games, picking up Moldova's second in 2024 in the Judo 73kg weight class.

Osmanov, 24, defeated Italy's Maual Lombardo to complete the podium spots just days after his compatriot Denis Vieru also won bronze in the Judo - this time in the 66kg weight class.

The work of Osmanov and Vieru saw them increase Moldova's historic medal count by 33 percent, from six to eight.

Celebrating the historic victory, Osmanov fell to his knees and let out a roar as he celebrated the moment that put him in the Olympic history books.

After celebrating, the 24-year-old gave the crowd one final fist pump - which ended in disaster.

Overextending his arm, Osmanov appeared to dislocate his shoulder, leading the judoka to cry out in pain.

Afterwards, Osmanov revealed that he had been suffering with illness ahead of the match and had been advised to have surgery on his shoulder prior to the Olympics, as per Metro.

"Yes, it was very difficult. And during the warm-up I felt bad, but I’ve had that before – and that’s when I got a medal." he said.

Thankfully, he'd recovered enough for the medal ceremony alongside gold medallist Hidayat Heydarov and Joan-Benjamin Gaba, who won silver.

Osmanov and Vieru will be paid 2,000,000 Romanian Leu in prize money, which is the equivalent to around £87,750.

Putting the injury to one side, praise for the athlete couldn't have been better back home in his native Moldova.

The president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, said: "Adil Osmanov brings the second bronze medal for Moldova! Congratulations, Adil! You debuted courageously, fought with passion and were fully rewarded.

"Excellent job done by the team of trainers and all those who backed you."

And the speaker of the Moldovan parliament, Igor Grosu, wrote: "Our sportspeople in judo show extraordinary performances at the Paris Olympic Games! The second bronze medal for Moldova, at judo!

"Excellent, Adil Osmanov! Your work and perseverance brought us pride and happiness! Come on, Moldova."

Soichi Hashimoto of Japan also won bronze in the 73kg category, with two bronze medals given out in every weight class across judo, taekwondo, and wrestling.

Adil Osmanov INJURY pic.twitter.com/P6Hj2Vl0dm

— El Bambino 🇷🇪 (@SurgYt91648) July 29, 2024

And while a dislocated shoulder might appear bad, hearts also went out to China's gymnast Su Weide after falling twice during the Men's Artistic Team All-Around event.

Dropping off of the high bar not once, but twice, the errors handed fierce rivals Japan a gold medal in the category.

Team USA completed the podium in bronze. Gymnastics commentator Christine Still said: "It just shows what the pressure is for everyone here."