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Playing shorthanded: Samantha Peszek sprains ankle

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BEIJING -- Samantha Peszek sprained her left ankle during floor exercise warm-ups on a tumbling pass, and the U.S. started their first rotation with only four competitors on the event because Chellsie Memmel was already scheduled to do only uneven bars because of her sprained ankle.

When first Bridget Sloan and then Alicia Sacramone went out of bounds, the U.S. team looks suddenly vulnerable. Sacramone, who won a silver medal on the floor exercise, likely won’t qualify for the event final after her score of 14.425 was even lower than Sloan’s 14.825. While the U.S. is in no danger of missing the team finals, this is not the start they expected.

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China scored 60.450 on floor exercise, the U.S. scored 60.050.

A USA gymnastics spokesman said Peszek was definitely out of the vault and balance beam. It was undecided whether she would do uneven bars. So the U.S. will also put up only four performers on the vault and will have to count all four scores.

-- Diane Pucin


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