Unlike many gymnasts who took breaks after the Olympics, Oleg Verniaiev has been competing non-stop for the past year, not missing a single major international competition, attending World cups and even competing for a German club in Bundesliga. This is likely due to the poor funding for gymnasts in Ukraine – Verniaiev frequently complains about the lack of funding and he recently told to Japanese television that his monthly salary before Rio was only about $100.
Turns out Verniaiev’s been competing injured this whole time. His coach, Gennady Sartynsky told iSport.ua that Verniaiev had torn a ligament in his leg even before Rio. In addition, he recently injured his shoulder and will likely need two surgeries in January. However, just today Verniaiev told in a live feed on Instagram that he will still compete at the rest of the Bundesliga season and he also complained about the poor condition of the floor at the competitions there. It is a pity that one of the best gymnasts in the world has to compete on bad floor and with a torn ligament just to earn a decent living.
Sartisnky said:
“Oleg will likely have surgeries on his leg and shoulder in January. He’ll probably miss the whole next season. He definitely won’t be able to train for half a year and then we’ll see how he’s getting back in shape. He tore a ligament in his leg, this had bothered Oleg even before Rio, but it was tolerable. He’s torn his shoulder already this season and it needs to be repaired. We’ve just done an MRI and realized that a surgery is inevitable. That’s the kind of sport we’re doing – you’re staying afloat all the time, but then you’ll need a time-out”.
