GYMNASTICS: Last year Thomas Pichler had to teach himself to walk again. In six weeks he intends running, tumbling and vaulting his way to a Games gold medal.
The 23-year-old Austrian-born Australian gymnast will make a remarkable Games debut in Delhi 18 months after undergoing a full knee reconstruction following a skiing accident.
Pichler still admonished himself over the “silly decision” to take to the slopes at a World Cup competition in Stuttgart.
With the support and urging of his coach, Sergei Chinkar, Pichler opted for one last crack at his sport through a long and painful rehabilitation road. “It was a lot of hard work,” he said.
