Japan ace Hagino to miss worlds after bicycle fall

TOKYO: Olympic bronze medallist swimmer Kosuke Hagino said Friday he will miss the FINA World Championships later this month after fracturing his right elbow in a bicycle fall.
The Japanese swimming sensation appeared at a press conference with his right arm firmly locked in a plaster cast, apologising to his team and pledging fast recovery to resume his campaign toward gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
He has fallen from a bicycle on Sunday in France, where he was training, on his way to practice.
He didn’t require a surgery, but the injury will take two months to heal, forcing him to miss the aquatic world championships that begin on July 24 in Russia.
“I am extremely sorry, especially for everyone on my team,” a stone-faced Hagino told local media.
“I can only do my best to regain my health and I am resolved to win gold medals at next year’s Rio Olympic Games,” said the 20-year-old, a bronze medal winner at the London Olympics in 2012.