Email this article Printer-friendly format Ariana Berlin

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Gymnast Ariana Berlin Undergoes Successful Surgery

Sophomore standout on target for full recovery after getting titanium rod removed from leg.

May 4, 2007

UCLA sophomore gymnast Ariana Berlin underwent a complicated but successful surgery in her hometown of San Diego on Thursday to remove the titanium rod that was inserted into her right leg following a serious car accident in 2001. Berlin will be on crutches for eight weeks and is still on target for a full recovery.

"Ariana's collegiate gymnastics career unfortunately has focused on the rod and pain in her right leg, and there has been a lot of discussion and anxiety over it," said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field. "But we are confident that she will have a full recovery, and considering the level of excellence she was able to obtain without much training, I can't begin to imagine the heights she's going to be able to achieve in the next two years of her gymnastics career. As she has been saying, she's on her way to becoming a new and improved Ariana."