U.S. Olympic gymnast John Orozco retore an Achilles on Monday and will have surgery Friday, according to his social media.
“My family life, my career, and my spirit seem to all be falling apart and crumbling into pieces,” was posted on Orozco’s Instagram and Facebook. “My faith has really been shaken these past few months. I just keep asking myself “why is this happening right now?” “Where’s the lesson in this?” I’m counting my blessings and weathering this storm because it’s the only choice I have.”
Orozco suffered the injury performing a double twisting back on floor exercise in a normal training session, USA Gymnastics men’s vice president Dennis McIntyre said in an email.
“Upon landing [Orozco] took a couple of steps and then noted to [coach] Vitaly [Marinitch] that he may have injured his achilles,” McIntyre said. “During the entire time from injury to initial diagnosis, John was calm but certainly concerned about the extent of the injury.”
McIntyre said the general prognosis for recovery time for Orozco’s injury is six to 12 months to full use, though it’s dependent on several factors and would be more definitive after Orozco’s surgery Friday.
Orozco, 22, also tore an Achilles in 2010 and battled back to make his first World Championships team in 2011, win the 2012 U.S. all-around title and make his first Olympic team. He suffered that first torn Achilles on Aug. 11, 2010, and competed in four events at the Japan Cup on July 2, 2011.
Later in 2012, he suffered a torn left ACL and associated meniscus damage on a parallel bars dismount during a post-Olympic tour that October.
Again, he came back. Orozco made the 2013 World Championships team, earned his first individual Worlds medal, bronze on parallel bars, and made the World Championships team again in 2014.
This year, Orozco’s mother, Damaris, died in February. Damaris, who had lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, used to drive him daily from the Bronx to the hamlet Chappaqua for gymnastics practice, usually more than an hour away with traffic.
This year’s P&G Championships are Aug. 13-16 in Indianapolis. The World Championships are the last week of October in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 2016 P&G Championships are June 3-5 in Hartford. The 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials are June 24-26 in St. Louis.
John Orozco’s mom on his mind at P&G Championships