Samantha Cerio from Auburn breaks both legs in a horrific gymnastic accident



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Samantha Cerio, a student at Auburn University, stared at the purple exercise mat in front of her. The lights at the Pete Maravich Rally Center in Baton Rouge reflected the gymnast's white, navy blue and dazzled orange leotard. The teammate applauded loudly. The 22-year-old then smiled quickly and left to resume her training on the ground, hoping to deliver a flawless performance and help the Auburn Tigers carve a place in the final of the tournament. NCAA female gymnastics.

But in the space of a few seconds, Cerio would be down to earth in anguish, his gymnastics career of nearly two decades having ended in a chaotic manner by what some have termed "worst injury related to sport"They never saw.

Cerio broke up on both knees and broke her legs on Friday after trying to blindly pass, which means she could not see the ground before landing, according to Times-Picayune, citing sources close to the gymnast's injuries.

"It was pretty hard to watch," said Jeff Graba, the Auburn Women's Gymnastics Coach, at Times-Picayune. Graba noted that during all his years of training, he had never seen anything like Cerio in the middle of the Baton Rouge area in the NCAA. semi final.

On Sunday, Cerio announced in a long Instagram post that Friday was her "last night as a gymnast".

"After 18 years, I'm hanging on to myself and I leave the chalk behind me," she wrote in an article that had recorded nearly 3,600 "likes" early Monday morning. "It may not have finished as planned, but nothing is going as planned."

Moments before Cerio was about to speak, his face was a mask of concentration. The senior, who was anchoring the event for the Tigers, could be seen receiving last-minute coaching advice and a cheering speech from one of her teammates. She calmly placed the foot of her feet, clapped her hands to relieve herself, and quickly performed a choreography.

"A young woman so impressive," said one of the commentators of the meeting as Cerio began his routine. The native of Huntersville, NC, who specializes in aerospace engineering, was recently named co-scholar of the SEC for gymnastics and, after graduating in May, held a position at Boeing in Seattle. Recognized for his ground-breaking performance and outstanding bar skills, Cerio was considered a role model by his teammates, according to AuburnTigers.com, the university's news site. Graba once described it as "the heart and soul of the team".

Cerio danced to one of the corners of the mat, preparing for his first pass by tumbling – a double-handed freehand with the blind landing.

"Let's see how high it is flying here," said another commentator.

The gymnast ran through the carpet, throwing herself into a series of vertiginous turns. But while she was opening on the last turnaround, her feet seeking speech, all went wrong.

Upon landing, Cerio's legs were violently bent, bending abnormally just below the knee and returned to the carpet. Her face twitched with pain and she seemed to scream.

"Ooh," shouted a commentator. Audience exclamations could be heard on the hammered instrumental music played in the arena.

Cerio was sitting on the floor where she had fallen, her eyes tightly shut. Her knees protruded from her legs, which were spread in front of her.

"I think she may be hurt," said one of the commentators as Auburn coaches headed for Cerio.

The music is off. The meeting has stopped. The crowd of more than 10,000 people, mostly supporters of Auburn's rivals, Louisiana State University, was silent.

Nearly 10 minutes passed while coaches, coaches and medical staff were busy at Cerio. At one point, she was surrounded by at least 12 people.

Commentators have speculated on the extent of Cerio's injuries. His knees were examined, they reported. One person described this as a "very serious leg injury". Another mentioned the difficulty of landing on the blind.

"You must almost feel it or expect it, and I think it happened earlier than her body was ready and that she hyperextended her knees," commented the commentator.

While about seven people raised Cerio from the floor and settled on a stretcher, the arena burst into applause. But even as the crowd cheered, their faces were filled with worry. Cerio's legs were locked in big black jets of air that left only his toes visible.

"He's a soldier," Graba told The Times-Picayune. "The last thing she said was," Go help the girls. The girls gathered around her. They are doing it for her right now. "

After his fall, Cerio's teammates regrouped into a tight group. There were still two rotations in the competition and if the Tigers wanted to qualify for the Saturday final they had to stay focused and compete.

"I surrounded everyone and I told myself," We will not do it, "recalls Abby Milliet, a senior Auburn, who had entrusted her to her teammates, according to AuburnTigers .com. "We're not going to be sad, we can be sad later on because it's sad, but we're going to do what she wants us to do and light that fire." It's time for us to light a new fire Sam would not want us to give up, she would fight harder.

Guided by the rallying cry of "Paste it for Sam", the Tigers delivered a impressive performance, finishing with their second highest score of the year and securing a place in the finals of the region.

"In the spirit, we all thought we know we can do it," said second student Drew Watson at the university's news site. "We were all having Sam in our mind in a positive way. … we pushed for her. "

Social media broke out with reactions to Cerio's injury, many dispatch the prayers and encouragement of the athletes.

While the graphic video of the landing was beginning to circulate widely, others horrified by what happened to Cerio.

All the while, Cerio continued to cheer for Auburn.

"All the gas, no breaks!" She tweeted in front of the final of the region. Auburn finished fourth in Saturday's final, ending the team's season.

Sunday night, Cerio thanked his supporters and shared a brief update on his health.

"I really appreciate all the support and prayers I've received!" She tweeted. "I'm fine now and I'm resting a lot! From the heart, thank you very much!

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