Belarus Gold Medal Hopeful Sidelined

Belarussian gymnast Ivan Ivankov, a team gold medalist at the 1992 Olympics, is out of the Atlanta Games after suffering a tendon injury, officials said in Minsk.

“He has undergone an operation and is now in a cast. He will need at least six months to return to form,” Vladimir Ryzhenkov, chairman of the former Soviet republic’s National Olympic Committee said.

“This is a big loss to our team as he had a real chance for a gold medal. He first suffered the injury in March but kept training instead of resting.”

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Gymnast Dominique Moceanu, who could be the darling of the Games, has resumed regular workouts in Houston but is still in some pain a month after doctors found a stress fracture in her leg.

Moceanu is using a portable ultrasound device, getting extra sleep and taking vitamins with hope that the fracture in her right tibia will heal.

“She’s working out on it slowly. It’s getting better,” said her coach, Bela Karolyi. “Not like before, but it’s still painful, yes.”

Moceanu will perform in a pre-Olympic exhibition this weekend in Greensboro, N.C., Karolyi said.

Dr. Jack Jensen said Moceanu’s injury is “infinitely better now” than when he discovered it after last month’s national championships, where she placed third. But Jensen wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Moceanu could hurt herself worse by competing in the Olympics.

“There’s a risk, yes. There is a definite chance that she could break her leg. I don’t think it’s very high,” he said.