The reigning Olympic women's triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas said on Friday she had injured her Achilles tendon and will miss the Paris Games.
"My heart is broken, and I want to say sorry that I will not be able to take part in Paris 2024," said the 28-year-old Venezuelan in a statement on her social media accounts.
Rojas said that during a jump in a training session in Spain, "I felt an intense pain, which has been diagnosed as an injury to the left Achilles tendon".
⚠️ ¡COMUNICADO! 📢
— Yulimar Rojas (@TeamRojas45) April 12, 2024
Nos vemos pronto, con los mismos sueños y ganas.
Con amor: Yulimar Rojas 💙 pic.twitter.com/sOzRLjmfun
She said she underwent surgery in Madrid on Thursday to repair the tendon. The statement was accompanied by a picture of her in a hospital bed.
Rojas won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and then took the Olympic title at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.
She dramatically won the fourth of her outdoor world titles in Budapest last year with her last-round leap.
She is also the world record holder in the event with a jump of 15.74m in 2022.