Vault injury knocks Orozco out of gymnastic worlds

HARTFORD - A crash and a few lost points in the vault, his next-to-last rotation in the first round of the national gymnastics championships Wednesday night, and John Orozco "would still be in the game," said his coach, Jason Hebert, whose charge was trying to qualify for the six-man U.S. world championship team.

But Orozco, the 17-year-old from The Bronx who is cited in the current Sports Illustrated as a rising presence in the sport, landed short of his vault mark, was whisked to the hospital for an MRI and was forced to skip his last event, the parallel bars, leaving him in 35th place.

Last night, Hebert reported that Orozco had suffered a two-thirds tear of the Achilles' tendon on his right foot and is facing a six- to eight-month recovery period. No shot at the worlds or the Pan American Games, and Orozco's planned workout sessions at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, beginning in September, now will consist entirely of treatment and rehab.

"He was preparing so well," said Herbert, who has worked with Orozco at World Cup Gymnastics in Chappaqua for nine years. "He's been showing he's ready to be on the map for U.S. Gymnastics and be there for years to come. This was just a freak thing."