CHATEAUROUX, France (AP) — A spinal injury ended Adriana Ruano’s chances of competing at the Olympics as a gymnast. She came back as a shooter and won Guatemala’s first gold medal on Wednesday.
Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics, a qualifier for the London Olympics the following year, when she felt pain in her back.
Scans showed she had six damaged vertebrae — a career-ending injury at age 16 — and she spent a year recovering, wearing a brace. Ruano’s doctor recommended she take up shooting if she wanted to stay in sports without aggravating her injured back.
“When I had my injury, I didn’t have anything.
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