French gymnast Samir Ait Said has bowed out of the Rio Olympics with a horror leg injury.

A loud crack was heard around the gymnastics arena when Ait Said’s left leg snapped on his vault landing.

Ait Said fell to the mat in agony, clutching the back of his knee and the lower part of his leg, which visibly flopped to one side to gasps of horror from the crowd.

Arena medical staff rushed to assist him.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oz9ImbeOiY

They worked for several minutes to stabilise Ait Said, 26.

The French gymnastics federation revealed he had broken both his tibia and fibia.

Ait Said acknowledged the crowd with a wave as he was carried from the venue on a stretcher.

It’s understood he will soon have surgery to address his injuries.

Ait Said is gripped by pain after the horror spill. Photo: Getty

Following the injury, athletes began questioning a scoring system they say pushes competitors to try increasingly dangerous moves.

American Danell Leyva, the 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medallist, said: “I heard other gymnasts say: ‘Don’t look, don’t look’.”

“Even though we’re on different teams, we know each other and I’ve known Samir since I was 14. It really sucks, but we have a job to do.”