Spain's five-time world triathlon champion Javier Gomez has fractured his left arm in a cycling accident forcing him out of the Olympic Games.

The silver medal winner at London 2012 crashed in training on Wednesday and requires surgery on his broken arm.

"It's the hardest moment of my sporting life," the 33-year-old triathlete said in a statement.

He was due to compete in a stage of the 2016 world championship in Hamburg this week to prepare for Rio.

"The only thing left for me now is to take on board what's happened and to make a quick recovery," he added.

Gomez was world champion in 2008, 2010, 2013-15 and took his fourth European title in Lisbon in May. He won the Olympic trial event staged in Copacabana in August last year.

Source: AFP