CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Despite a broken arm, multiple elbow surgeries and spending two years away from competitive gymnastics, Chad Wiest never thought about walking away from the sport.

Instead, the Moniteau graduate and University of Illinois senior has returned with a vengeance.

"Quit? Chad? I don't think he'd even acknowledge the word," said Illini coach Justin Spring, a former Olympic bronze medalist.

And he's right.

"It was tough on me mentally, all of the setbacks," Wiest said. "But I know what I'm capable of being. That's what brought me back."

Wiest said he believes he is capable of being the NCAA champion in the floor exercise and a member of a national championship men's gymnastics team. Illinois last won the national title in 1989, but is ranked No. 1 in the nation right now.

Wiest became an All-American as a freshman in 2007, when he tied for third in floor exercise at the NCAA championships. His future in the sport appeared to be limitless.

That was before his future changed.

He suffered a broken arm while doing his floor exercise routine at the Big Ten Championships his sophomore year.

"I've watched the tape of that a lot," Wiest said. "It was nothing I did wrong in terms of technique, really. My arm just gave out. It was just a fluke that it happened.

"My arm was in a cast for 13 weeks. It healed very slowly and then there were complications."

Wiest couldn't fully extend his arm afterward. Bone stimulation was used to help the bone grow, but the problem wasn't solved.

"I had a pinched nerve in my elbow and felt numbness in two fingers," Wiest said. "(Surgeons) had to go in and fix that up."

Two months later, Wiest's arm still wouldn't function properly.

Extra tissue had formed in his elbow joint, blocking it from full extension, and further surgery was required.

"While all this was going on, Chad still showed up in the gym," Spring said. "He worked on his leg strength, conditioning, anything he could.

"When he was cleared to come back, he wanted to be ready to come back."

After missing the bulk of the 2008 season and all of 2009, Wiest returned for the 2010 Windy City Invitational in Chicago recently. He posted a career-high score of 15.650 in floor exercise and the Illini won the meet.

"I messed up on some other things (parallel and high bars)," Wiest said. "I was rusty and a little nervous. But it's something to build on."

Wiest's performance was good enough to earn him University of Illinois Male Athlete of the Week honors.

Spring assesses Wiest's talents as good enough to become a national champion.

"Chad is one of the top three in the country on floor right now," the coach said. "He's going to improve because he works so hard at it.

"He doesn't pick up naturally on things you coach him, but he eventually gets it. Chad works at things because he's so competitive."

A sports recreation and tourism major, Wiest is on pace to graduate next year. He redshirted last year and will compete for the university's gymnastics team next season as well.

"You always want to be No. 1," Wiest said. "My goal is a national championship. I also want to be an all-around gymnast who can score for his team in a lot of ways. I've got plenty of room to improve.

"I'm perfectly healthy now. There's no more complications and I'm excited about what lies ahead."

Wiest is a former member of the Butler Gymnastics Club and led that team to the state championship in 2006. He was state champion in the all-around that year as well.