Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Four years of preparation and training have ended in disappointment for Polish mountain biker Maja Włoszczowska after a training accident in Italy left her with a broken bone in her foot. The injury means she will be unable to compete at the 2012 London Olympics and improve on the Olympic silver medal she won in the cross country event at Beijing 2008.

“All I can do now is wait for my foot to recover fully so that I can get back on my bike,” Ms Włoszczowska told journalists.

The Pole was seen as one of her country’s top medal hopes at this summer's Olympic Games after she followed up her second place at the 2008 Olympics with gold at the 2010 World Championships and silver at last year's event.

Poland A.M.