Maria Kharenkova currently competes for Georgia but is still eligible for Russian national competitions as a Russian citizen. She competed at the Russian Championships earlier this month as a part of her preparation for the European Championships but, unfortunately, suffered an Achilles tear on floor in the qualifications. She wrote on Instagram that she had the surgery to repair the tear:
“At the past Russian Championships, while competing on floor, I got injured. An Achilles tendon tear. This is the most serious injury in my whole athletic career and my first ever surgery. Of course, it’s very sad that it happened this way but the most important thing is that everything went well. A long recovery is ahead of me. I have my game face on and I always have a positive attitude.”
Kharenkova narrowly missed the Olympic qualification at the 2019 Worlds after not having a good day on any of the events. She is currently the second reserve and, theoretically, could qualify if a continental championships was canceled (releasing Olympic spots back to the pool) or if qualified individuals withdrew. However, with the Achilles tear recovery usually taking a long time, she’s not likely to be able to return even if she gets the spot.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
