Mattie wows the crowd in Philly

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PHILADELPHIA -- Mattie Larson wowed the Wachovia Center crowd with her punchy floor routine and beaming smile. Larson, 16, of Los Angeles who is competing in her first season as a senior-level gymnast also said she was thrilled to be still in the running to make the U.S. Olympic team. ‘I have goosebumps,’ Larson said. ‘I still think I could make the team.’

That’s a longshot, but Larson is one of 10 gymnasts who will attend a final team training camp. From those 10, four will be picked to join Olympic qualifiers Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin and up to three more will be named as Olympic alternates.

Larson, who trains at All Olympia in L.A., said she disagreed with a judge’s call that she stepped out of bounds on her floor routine Sunday. The Philly crowd agreed with her and it booed loudly (no batteries were thrown, thankfully, even if that is a Philadelphia tradition). ‘That was kind of cool,’ Larson said. ‘The crowd was on my side. I am still getting better and better every day so by the time I get to camp, I can be even better.’

Besides Larson, Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla., Chelsea Davis of Lakeway, Tex., Ivan Hong of Laguna Hills, Corrie Lothrop of Gaithersburg, Md., Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and Shayla Worley of Orlando will be at the July 16-20 training camp.

-- Diane Pucin