Why is beth tweddle not competing

The doctor checked me out on the Thursday and he thought there was something up with the tissue in the knee. He said that we'd just scan it as a precaution. It was pretty relaxed. I went for the scan and, an hour later, they were convinced they'd found a tear in the tissue. They sent the scan to the surgeon — who was in Italy. He looked at it that night, called my doctor and said: 'Get her to London and I'll operate tomorrow afternoon. Tweddle describes the moment she received such shattering news.

But her composed words are a reminder of how close she came to missing London I knew it was not good from the tone of her voice and because she'd normally say: 'The scan's fine — you just need a couple of days rest', I knew it was bad.

But her phone was engaged when I called as she was talking to my coach [Amanda Reddin]. When I finally got hold of the doctor she said Amanda wanted to speak to me. Reddin tried to reassure her that the operation was straightforward — a relatively routine procedure that could be completed in 20 minutes of keyhole surgery — but Tweddle was distraught.

As soon as he got out of the car Steve could see I was crying on the phone. He was, like: 'Oh, God, what's happened? I needed to speak to my parents and to Amanda because we had to make the arrangements for me to get to London the next day for the operation. Reddin remained typically measured. Amanda keeps her emotions in check. Even when I win a world title she'll just say: 'Well done, missus.

Tweddle laughs. But in , when I won the worlds for a third time [with her second title on the uneven bars following an earlier triumph on the floor], the cameras caught her crying when I was on the podium. That shows how much it means to her. So when she told me about my knee she was very controlled. She knew how upset I was.

As a veteran gymnast it's inevitable that Tweddle shrugs with wry resignation when recounting her visits to the surgical theatre. When the surgeon went in, he discovered the tear had been there a while. And that was a good thing because it meant there was no inflammation. He also used every possible technique during surgery to make the healing process go faster. But he explained afterwards that even though I'd never had problems with the knee, it was like a walking time-bomb.

It could have gone two weeks before the Olympics. Tweddle's record-breaking medal haul began aged 17 at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where she collected a gold and two silvers. Throughout the next decade, she went on to win more than 20 golds external-link in major championships throughout the world.

Tweddle's achievements were made all the more remarkable by the fact she battled a knee problem to remain successful in a sport in which it is rare to compete much beyond the age of British Olympic Association chairman Sebastian Coe labelled her "an inspiration and a role model for a generation". Following her announcement, a Beth Tweddle Academy is to be opened in a school on the London Olympic site.

Obviously if I progress then I can make the decision. I have competed [with] both at different competitions. Tweddle is also competing on the floor, although she admits the level of her performance is not up to her usual standard after recovering from knee surgery. She added: "Floor is still not up to what I would be happy with but I made the conscious decision after my knee surgery between me and my coach to just get me here I needed a floor routine that I was happy with.

Imogen Cairns, one of Tweddle's Great Britain team-mates, hailed the City of Liverpool gymnast for her glittering career at the top of the sport. Cairns said: "She's amazing. She does make our team. I say I'm old or more experienced but she's even more experienced.