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BEIJING -- David Durante sat in the stands cheering like crazy for his American gymnastics teammates but not hiding his sadness over being in the stands.
When the U.S. named its Olympic team in June, Durante was one of three alternates. The 28-year-old had said this would be his last competitive season and after being national all-around champion in 2007, being an Olympic alternate was not a triumph.
All three alternates, including Raj Bhavsar and Alexander Artemev, came to Beijing. Bhavsar was named as a replacement for Paul Hamm on July 28 and Wednesday night Artemev and Durante received phone calls in their rooms at 10 p.m. telling them Morgan Hamm was injured. The two were asked to come to the gym and perform floor exercise and pommel horse routines in front of the coaches.
Artemev was chosen for the team, making Durante the odd man out for the third time.
"Not hearing your name called again and again, that's been more emotionally draining for me than I thought. But I'm still working hard until Tuesday," Durante said.
If the U.S. suffers any other injuries before team finals, Durante could still end up on the floor.
Durante also said he was disappointed that Paul and Morgan Hamm weren't in the National Indoor Stadium Saturday when the U.S. competed. "I thought they'd be here to support the team," Durante said.
When Morgan withdrew on Thursday, he said he planned to stay and that he thought Paul might also come from the United States to be in the stands but gymnastics officials said Morgan was on his way home Saturday.
-- Diane Pucin
BEIJING -- Gymnastics team qualifying round is a long day at the office.
Competition began at noon so that meant catching a 10 a.m. bus. The final group will finish at about 10 tonight. So Juliet Macur from the New York Times went up to the media food lounge where there is a lovely display of boxed Chinese lunches. They smelled good, looked good. Great, we'll have two.
Nope. Turns out you have to order your media food two days in advance. We're not exactly sure from whom. We were already too late to order for Sunday, the women's team qualifying day. But we could order for Monday -- except Monday there is no competition.
-- Diane Pucin
BEIJING -- The gymnasts get a day to do what is called podium training. At major competitions, the equipment is placed on raised podiums for better viewing in big arenas.
But each podium gives the gymnasts a different feel, and in a sport where feel for the space around you is so important, podium training is crucial.
The U.S. men began podium training at noon Wednesday in a group with Italy, Spain and a mixed group of athletes from Israel, Great Britain, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Georgia, Yemen, Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The mixed groups are individual athletes whose teams did not qualify for the Olympics, but who are trying to qualify for the individual event and all-around finals.
Wearing white shirts with a spidery, red design and red shorts, the U.S. men started on still rings, where medal hopeful Kevin Tan earned an ovation from the savvy crowd of Chinese volunteers and journalists.
Justin Spring giggled through the rotations, having more fun than any gymnast around. Morgan Hamm didn't crack a smile after he did a vault with a perfect landing that, again, earned applause.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: The rings hang in front of an Olympic banner in the national indoor stadium in Beijing. Credit: Frank May/EPA
SHANGHAI -- It's 5:03 a.m. on Monday morning. I couldn't sleep so I checked my BlackBerry and saw that Chellsie Memmel had hurt her right ankle.
Memmel has had trouble with that ankle at various times during the Olympics trials process, and it is her physical shape that has concerned team coordinator Martha Karolyi since Memmel had shoulder surgery nearly two years ago.
At the end of last year, this was a U.S. team that seemed to be extremely deep.
Besides the group of six that won the world championship gold medal -- Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Ivana Hong, Shayla Worley and alternate Bridget Sloan -- waiting on the sidelines were 2006 World all-around silver medalist Jana Bieger and 2005 World champion Memmel, plus two rising newcomers in Mattie Larson and Chelsea Davis.
Worley, who added an elegant and difficult uneven bars routine to the U.S. rotation, was bothered all season by an injured back. But it was a broken leg at the final selection camp that knocked Worley off the list.
Sloan is still looking for top form after knee surgery last March. Bieger's fearful uneven bars performance at the final ranch camp trial pushed the teary-eyed 18-year-old off the team and into an alternate spot. Hong never exhibited any joy, nor did she improve any of her difficulty marks this season, as Karolyi had hoped.
Davis' advancement was slowed by a knee injury that caused her to miss part of the national championships, and Larson suffered a leg fracture, though she still managed an uneven bars routine on the final night of the final camp.
A big key for the U.S. team -- if it is to beat the young Chinese team -- is for Memmel to perform well on uneven bars. If her ankle doesn't heal, Karolyi will have some decisions to make.
On whether Bieger's clear disappointment over being named as an alternate has hurt her training these last two weeks. On whether Hong can find the inner spark that made her so appealing a year ago. On whether the third alternate, Corrie Lothrop, should be pushed into a spot that she isn't ready for.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: From left to right, Chellsie Memmel, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Shawn Johnson and Bridget Sloan pose after the final day of competition at the USA Gymnastics Olympic selection camp on July 19, 2008 in New Waverly, Texas. Credit: David J. Phillip/Associated Press Photo
Chellsie Memmel hurt her right ankle while training on the floor exercise Sunday in Beijing.
“USA Gymnastics is monitoring Chellsie on a daily basis,” USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny said in a statement on the organization's website.
Associated Press added this from Memmel: "We're taking things a day at a time, but I was able to do good bars today."
Alternates Ivana Hong, Jana Bieger and Corrie Lothrop are training in Tokyo and could fly to Beijing should Memmel not recover in time.
Memmel, the 2005 world champion, has suffered a series of injuries, including a broken foot that caused her to miss the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
-- Greg Johnson
Chellsie Memmel performs her floor exercise during the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials on June 22 in Philadelphia. Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images
Associated Press reports that birth data found online brings into question whether Yang Yilin, a Chinese gymnast who is considered a gold medal contender, is too young to compete in the Beijing Games.
If the birth information is correct, questions now exist as to whether three Chinese gymnasts -- half of the national team -- are too young to compete.
Yang, who competes in the all-around and uneven bars, was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists previously posted on the web site of the General Administration of Sports of China. That would make her 15th birthday later this month.
But the 2007 registration list has Yang's birthday as Aug. 26, 1992, which would make her old enough to compete.
Similar concerns have already been raised about the ages of He Kexin, a gold-medal favorite on uneven bars, and Jiang Yuyuan.
Chinese gymnastics officials did not immediately respond to AP's request for documentation of Yang's age and an explanation for the discrepancy.
International Gymnastics Federation secretary general Andrei Gueisbuhler said he couldn’t comment on the documents without seeing them.
IOC president Jacques Rogge on Saturday told AP that the age question was a FIG issue. “The IOC relies on the international federations, who are exclusively responsible for the eligibility of athletes,” Rogge said. “It’s not the task of the IOC to check every one of the 10,000 athletes.”
Here's what blogger Diane Pucin wrote about the age issue in The Los Angeles Times on July 28.
-- Greg Johnson
One of the most poignant memories of the 2007 gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, was the daily sight of Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, pushing himself in his wheelchair from event to event to cheer on his teammates.
Shewfelt, the defending Olympic floor exercise gold medalist, broke both his legs during a training session in Stuttgart before the competition. Shewfelt was recently named to the Canadian Olympic team and will try to defend his floor exercise title and help Canada make the eight-team final for the first time in history.
The Montreal Gazette recently did a story on Shewfelt.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Canadian Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt at a news conference in Calgary on June 3. Credit: Jeff McIntosh / Canadian Press
The Russians have named their women's gymnastics team according to International Gymnast magazine.
International Gymnast is a great resource for finding updated rosters for foreign teams and news about those teams.
For example, it's posted a story about Yulia Lozhechko, a three-time member of the Russian national team, who was suspended for three months last year after defying her coaches at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
She opted to do a more difficult balance beam dismount with the hope of boosting herself into the individual event balance beam final. Instead, she fell and cost the Russians valuable points in the team competition.
Needless to say, Lozhechko is not a member of the Beijing-bound Russian Olympic team.
-- Diane Pucin
USA Gymnastics has named Raj Bhavsar to replace Paul Hamm on the Olympic men's gymnastics team.
Bhavsar, 27, has a poignant story of perseverance to tell. He was disillusioned after being named an Olympic alternate in 2004 and almost gave up on the sport. But he came back to try again. Only to be named an alternate again during the Olympic trials this year.
But after Hamm, the defending Olympic all-around gold medalist, gave up on his comeback from a broken bone in his hand earlier Monday, Bhavsar received news that was both good and bad.
"This is a tremendous honor, and the first feeling that comes to mind is that dreams can come true," Bhavsar said. "You never know when it will happen, but with enough positive intentions and belief, it can. Unfortunately this comes at the expense of a great athlete, Paul Hamm. My heart goes out to him. He did an admirable thing, and he will always be a hero in my eyes."
In a statement released Monday, Dennis McIntyre, director for men's programs at USA Gymnastics, said that, "given the current team makeup, we believe Raj is best suited to help the U.S. men's team in its pursuit of a team medal."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Raj Bhavsar swings off the horizontal bar during the men's second day of competition at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Philadelphia on June 21. Credit: Rob Carr/Associated Press Photo
The New China News Agency reports that Li Xiaopeng will not do his best event, vault, at the Olymipcs. Li confirmed Sunday that he had been unable to perfect a second vault. Athletes who want to qualify for the vault finals must show two different vaults.
"It's dangerous to try in this situation," Li said. "I have to give up to avoid a recurring injury."
Paul Hamm isn't going to the Beijing Games after all.
The Olympic gold medalist said today that he has withdrawn from the U.S. team because his broken right hand hasn't healed as quickly as anticipated. Hamm's accelerated recovery attempt also caused an injury to his rotator cuff.
Here is a link to Diane Pucin's story about Hamm, which is now on LATimes.com. Pucin writes that: Hamm's spot will be taken by one of the three alternates -- 2007 national all-around champion David Duarte; former world pommel horse medalist Alexander Artemev or 2004 Athens alternate Raj Bhavsar.
The withdrawal of Hamm makes the path to individual gold much smoother for Chinese favorite Yang Wei and makes the U.S. team's pursuit of a medal much less likely.
Here is Hamm's statement from a USA Gymnastics press release: I have put my heart and soul into my comeback and done everything I could to get ready in time to compete in Beijing. After returning home from the preparation camp, I had a few physical setbacks, and it became clear to me that my physical preparations would not be sufficient to properly represent the United States and contribute to the team’s efforts to win a medal. I recently strained my rotator cuff and have been unable to perform all of my skills. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to make a comeback. At this point in time, the success of the team and fairness to the team, and the alternates, is most important. While I am very disappointed, I feel I can wait no longer to make this decision.
Here is a statement from USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny: We admire Paul for making this difficult decision. Paul’s comeback this year has been phenomenal, made even more impressive following the injury to his hand. He has raised the level of determination among the entire team to put forth a medal winning effort in China. We respect his decision at this time, which is being made to serve the best interests of all of the athletes involved.
-- Greg Johnson
Photo: Paul Hamm shows off his gloved hand during a June 19 news conference in Philadelphia. Credit: Rob Carr / Associated Press
 Morgan Hamm and USA Gymnastics will have to wait a bit longer for the International Gymnastics Federation to weigh in on whether Hamm is cleared to compete at the Beijing Games.
Some reports had suggested that the federation might make a decision today on whether to accept or challenge the decision by USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympics Committee to allow Hamm to compete.
USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny told the Associated Press that he expected the federation to make an announcement on Monday on Hamm's situation.
The issue arose after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency reported that Hamm had tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug that is prohibited, unless the athlete files the proper paperwork -- which Hamm had failed to do.
Hamm said the mistake occurred when he sought treatment for a swollen left ankle. U.S. officials investigated and cleared Hamm to compete.
International sports federations have the right to appeal USADA decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Photo: Morgan Hamm. Credit: Howard Smith / US Presswire
The New York Times has published an article that underscores doubts in the gymnastics community about whether He Kexin, a gold-medal favorite in the uneven parallel bars, and Jiang Yuyuan are old enough to be competing in the Beijing Games. Birth dates and other information provided by Chinese officials, the newspaper said, are in conflict with information that has been available through official Chinese web sites.
The top-ranked U.S. beach volleyball duo, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, accompanied by Sean Rosenthal of the second-ranked U.S. team, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Friday before the Dodgers' game against the Washington Nationals.
Also due to participate are Misty May-Treanor, who will team with Kerri Walsh to defend their beach volleyball gold medal, and Nicole Branagh, whose playing partner will be Elaine Youngs.
Saturday's ceremonial first pitch participants will be Beijing-bound divers Troy Dumais of Ventura and Laura Wilkinson, as well as 2004 gymnastics Olympian Mohini Bhardwaj.
-- Helene Elliott
Martha Karolyi chose her words carefully earlier today during a conference call when she was asked about comments former U.S. Olympian Dominique Moceanu made to HBO "Real Sports," which will air a report tonight (10 p.m. EST/PST) about the physical and emotional toll that elite gymnasts pay.
Moceanu criticizes the lengthy selection process and suggests USA Gymnastics would be better off if U.S. team coordinator Martha Karolyi and her husband (and former team director), Bela, were no longer involved.
 Martha Karolyi said she was "saddened" that Moceanu only remembered the bad days. "I feel sad that a gymnast so accomplished as Dominique, being part of the 1996 Olympic team and being the individual medalist in the 1995 world championships, can remember the harder days during the preparation. I feel sad."
Moceanu had been the youngest member ever of a U.S. national team when she qualified as a 13-year-old in 1995 (before age restrictions came into play). She earned a team gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics, though her hopes for an all-around medal were dashed when she suffered a stress fracture earlier in the season.
Moceanu's post-Olympic years were troubled at first.
In 1998, when she was 17, Moceanu got an order of emancipation from her father, Dumitru Moceanu (*previously mispelled Dimitru), and tried to get a restraining order against him after accusing him of stalking her. Moceanu eventually reconciled with her family, and she tried out for the 2000 Olympic team and for the 2005 national team, even attending camps at the Karolyi ranch.
She also participated in the 2004 post-Olympics gymnastics tour. She is married to former Ohio State gymnast Michael Canales and is the mother of a six-month-old daughter.
Martha Karolyi said she wouldn't respond directly to Moceanu's suggestion that the Karolyis be ousted from USA Gymnastics.
"I think the majority of the girls certainly feel very proud they were able to train those many years and be dedicated and deal with the sacrifices," she said. "Just like in any other directions or any part of life, where in order to be successful, you really have to work hard."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Bela Karolyi trains Dominique Moceanu during a practice session in 1996 in Boston. Credit: Susan Walsh / Associated Press
Insert: Martha Karolyi at the 2008 Visa Gymnastics Championships on June 4 in Boston. Credit: Mary Schwalm / Associated Press
U.S. Olympic men's team gymnast Morgan Hamm isn't yet totally free of possible consequences of his failed doping test at the U.S. national championships.
The controversy started in May, when Hamm, 25, received a cortisone shot for an injured ankle. The shot would have been legal had his doctor filed paperwork that described the shot as being for therapeutic purposes.
The paperwork wasn't filled out, Hamm failed the doping test and the results were sent to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. The USADA, satisfied that Hamm's only mistake was the failure to file paperwork, chose to issue Hamm a warning, not a suspension.
Now, FIG (the international gymnastics federation) has the option to ask that USADA's decision be overturned. If that were to happen, the case would be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
"We're waiting to hear from FIG," USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said today. "They only thing they can do is appeal the USADA warning. We don't expect they will. USADA is confident in the steps it has taken."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Morgan Hamm, right, looks at his brother Paul Hamm, center, and Jonathan Horton during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials on June 21 in Philadelphia. Credit: Julie Jacobson / Associated Press
Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong and Corrie Lothrop, the three alternates on the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, will train for the Beijing Games in Japan instead of in Tianjin, China, which was the original plan.
USA gymnastics president Steve Penny said that the change is being driven by visa issues. Alternates aren't issued the same credentials as participating athletes. The athlete credential also serves as a visa, Penny said, but alternates must apply for a regular tourist visa.
Men's alternates -- David Durante, Alexander Artemev and Raj Bhavsar -- have received their tourist visas, but U.S. women's team coordinator Martha Karolyi said that continuing visa difficulties for the women forced the move to the training camp in Japan.
"It would be more convenient to be in China," Karolyi said. "But we were told (we) just might not be able to train in China, so I said, 'Why don't we just go to Japan?' "
The Olympic team of Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Chellsie Memmel and Bridget Sloan, along with the alternates, will return to the Karolyi ranch on Thursday afternoon to train together. On July 30 they all will fly to San Jose, where they will go through processing. They will leave for Asia on July 31.
Penny said that the men and women made separate arrangements for training venues. He said Chinese gymnastics federation controls the Tianjin facility and that may have complicated the visa issue.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Bridget Sloan competes in the vault during a gymnastics meet on June 4 in Boston. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
Kevin Tan has been named captain of the Beijing-bound U.S. men’s gymnastics team. Miles Avery, who coaches Paul and Morgan Hamm, will join the squad as an assistant coach.
The Beijing Games that begin on Aug. 8 will be the first Olympics for Tan, a three-time member of U.S. world championship teams. He won his third U.S. title on rings earlier this summer.
The trip will be a homecoming of sorts for Tan, whose grandparents lived in Beijing.
Avery, Ohio State's head coach, served as assistant coach in 2004, when the U.S. men won their first Olympic medal in 20 years in Athens -- a silver -- and Paul Hamm became the first American male to win the all-around title.
Kevin Mazeika is the team's head coach, as he was in Athens four years ago. He also coached at last year’s world championships, in which the Americans finished fourth.
-- Greg Johnson
Photo: Kevin Tan competes on the still rings during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Philadelphia on June 19. Credit: Al Bello / Getty Images
Just got an email from Eric Larson, father of Mattie, the charismatic young Los Angeles gymnast who  made it to the final Olympic team training camp. That means Mattie, 16, was one of the final 12 eligible.
Mattie returned home today after competing in just one event -- uneven bars -- last Saturday, the final night of competition before the team was named. She did only one event because of a sore leg. Eric said that X-rays today showed a small fracture in the tibia, something she may have had since the final day of the Olympic trials last month. Eric said Mattie began experiencing pain in Philadelphia but was determined to finish the selection process.
According to Eric, "Four doctors read the results. A broken tibia (the bigger leg bone) just above her ankle. When asked when the pain started in that area, Mattie said since the last day of Olympic trials in Philly. Her doctors informed her that was when she broke it -- a month ago. She just couldn't go anymore on Saturday with the pain."
National team coordinator Martha Karolyi said Saturday night that she expected big things from Larson, who is in her first year as a senior elite competitor. "I think she needs to rest a little and get healthy, and she is going to be a very beautiful gymnast and a strong member of our team."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Mattie Larson. Credit: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times
HBO sent me a preview copy of the July 22 edition (10 p.m. EST/PST) of "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," which will have a segment that focuses on how difficult it is to become an elite-level gymnast.
Dominique Moceanu, a member of the 1996 gold medal-winning team dubbed "The Magnificent Seven," is 26 now and the mother of a seven-month old daughter.
Moceanu told HBO that her sacrifices of living a spartan life, always watching her diet, and enduring several injuries (including a stress fracture during the Olympic year) are not something she'd do again.
She said her coaches, who included Bela and Martha Karolyi, showed "very little compassion." And she told a story of having an aunt help her to smuggle Twizzlers, Mentos and gum into the practice gym by hiding them inside a teddy bear.
Moceanu didn't talk about how she tried to qualify for the 2000 Athens Olympics and the 2006 national team , after the Karolyis invited her to the monthly gymnastics training camps at their ranch.
HBO also interviewed Jennifer Sey, a former gymnast who trained in Allentown, Pa., at the Parkettes camp. Sey recently published a book, "Chalked Up," about her unhappy experiences. She did an extensive interview on Salon.com about why she wrote the book.
Chellsie Memmel, who was named to the U.S. Olympic team last Saturday, told HBO about her efforts to overcome injuries (shoulder and ankle surgery) and living with a diet that includes fruit for breakfast, chicken for lunch and more fruit for dinner. Things that Memmel describes as a normal part of discipline that most elite athletes come to accept.
Women's gymnastics and figure skating are tough sports. Most elite athletes are no older than 20 and have trained for at least a decade during a time in life when their bones are still growing. The daily pounding often results in stress injuries, small fractures and hip injuries.
There seems an element of sexism, though, when every four years, the Olympics come around -- and women's gymnastics and figure skating invariably are singled out as being particularly cruel sports.
Nose around youth baseball and check out the surgical scars on pitchers' elbows. Or women's high school and college basketball for the knee and shoulder surgical scars. Has Candace Parker, her coaches or family ever been criticized for letting her continue to play basketball after her knee injuries?
These girls may be tiny, but they also are driven athletes. Shawn Johnson would rather be in the gym than on the computer, would rather eat grilled fish than a Big Mac, and says "that's OK" if she ends up with aches and pain in 10 or 20 years. "So do football players," Johnson says. "Nobody stops them."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Dominique Moceanu is shown with other gymnasts before the start of a 2006 competition in Kansas City. Credit: Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- I stayed awake for a long time last night, contemplating the emotionless face of 15-year-old Ivana Hong.
Last summer, she was a bubbly rookie who withstood fiercely anti-American boos during the Pan-American Games in Brazil as she and her U.S. teammates won gold while having garbage thrown their way.
Hong was the free-spirited baby sister on the world championship team who went home with a team gold medal and instructions to up her difficulty and her "grinability."
National team coordinator Martha Karolyi said that she wanted more "sturdiness" from Hong, as well as more dramatic flair -- and maybe a kiddie smile that would indicate joy was part of the process.
Instead Hong seemed to sink within herself all during this Olympic selection process. She seemed to shrink from taking chances, doing safer, smaller tricks when Karolyi was crying out that Hong suck it up and add another twist or exta twirl.
Even Hong's coach, Al Fong, lamented Saturday night that had Hong done the high-flying, solidly landed warm-up vault when it mattered, in the competition, Hong might have made the Olympic team.
"But you don't win in warm-ups," Fong said. "You win in competition. You have to do it. Ivana didn't do it."
Those words seemed harsh from the coach of a 15-year-old who is still discovering her own personality. And Ivana, who moved from Laguna Hills to train with Fong in Missouri, was stoic but dry-eyed when she said it was hard to imagine still doing this four years from now.
Hong would only be 19, younger than two members of this Olympics team, but four years of living a divided life -- her mother and siblings stay in Missouri while her father runs a company in Laguna Hills -- is not a happy prospect.
 If the process seems cruel -- Shayla Worley and Mattie Larson suffered leg fractures during the final part of this two-month ordeal -- it is also necessary.
"It really matters who is doing best at the end, not the beginning," said 16-year-old Bridget Sloan, who had started from behind. She needed arthroscopic surgery on her left knee in March and had to move relentlessly forward.
And, sure enough, Sloan improved slowly through nationals and the Olympic trials. She arrived for this final test at the Karolyi ranch wearing a small band underneath her left knee and reveling in landing jumps and flips without any jolts of pain.
"It doesn't hurt," Sloan said Friday. "I can do all my tricks." She did most of them, not always perfectly, but with a precise line of pointed fingers and toes and a graceful strength that made Karolyi smile -- even though Sloan always frowned through routines.
I saw Jana Bieger in tears after she made the same mistake two nights in a row on the uneven bars release move. I watched her melt in a corner as she tried to gather her fading emotional reserves -- because she knew, just knew, team selectors were losing faith in her mental sturdiness.
It was difficult to watch.
 But the clinical Karolyi had made her point. She needed to pick gymnasts who were on an upward curve as far as physical fitness and mental solidity.
Sloan did that. Bieger and Hong didn't.
This team will stand out on the balance beam. Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone are all capable of putting out scores of 16.200 or higher, and on floor exercise, Johnson and Sacramone can crack 16 and Liukin can get close.
Where Karolyi is looking for help is on uneven bars and vault.
The Chinese have at least two girls, maybe three, who can post scores of 17 or higher. Only one American, Liukin, has done that, and she hasn't done it in a month. Chellsie Memmel has a set that can score around 16.200 or even 16.300. Johnson, at her best, might score a 15.900.
If Bieger hadn't fallen twice here, she would have scored 15.800s. Instead she was at 15 and missing confidence in her release moves.
The U.S. also needs a third strong vaulter. Sacramone and Johnson will give the U.S. scores right around 16 or a little higher. Hong could have earned her team spot if she had landed her vault that is beautiful and high in the air.
As her knee improved, Sloan's vaults became more reliable and more difficult and Karolyi said she expected them to keep getting better.
And if one wants to criticize the length of this process and the physical toll it took -- remember the broken bones suffered by Worley and Larson -- it is imperative the U.S. send athletes who can withstand the physical pounding.
Because the Chinese are likely going to offer younger, smaller girls.
Mary Lou Retton said this after watching video of the Chinese uneven bar routines: "The girls are so little, so young and they go around, whoosh, whoosh, so fast and so tight and do so many tricks, it's amazing."
Bela Karolyi, Martha's husband and the coach of Retton, Nadia Comaneci, Kim Zmeskal and Kerri Strug, makes the point often that he sees too many baby teeth in Chinese gymnasts. His point is that the Chinese might be taking advantage of an age rule that requires Olympians to turn 16 during an Olympic year.
Karolyi muses that it might be easy to do little wonders with birth certificates in a communist country. Karolyi probably knows how this could work better than most since he was a coach in Romania.
The battle for gold between the U.S. and China will be both about mental strength and big tricks. The Chinese are criticized for performing skills that may score high but also may be very difficult and often result in big falls.
The Americans prefer a little more safety. They want girls staying upright, not letting go of release moves. But they also want girls who act full of confidence, something at which Hong was failing.
When Sacramone does a come-hither hip swivel on her floor exercise, it is as much to score charm points with the judges as it is to demonstrate a skill.
That is what Karolyi said the U.S. girls need to do. They need to be more like Johnson on the balance beam. When Johnson is on that 4-inch-wide apparatus, there is no surprise when she lands a triple tumbling pass. She expects to hit that and score a 16.300.
-- Diane Pucin
Top photo: Ivana Hong on the vault runway during a June competition in Boston. Credit: Stew Milne/US Presswire
First insert: Shayla Worley grabs on to the uneven bars during a June competition in Philadelphia. Credit: Rob Carr/Associated Press
Second insert: Martha Karolyi watches her team during a June competition in Boston. Credit: Stew Milne/US Presswire
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Shayla Worley, with her broken right leg propped up and in a brace, had to watch from the sidelines as her USA gymnastics teammates went through their paces in front of the final U.S. Olympic selection panel here at Bela and Martha Karolyi's ranch.
It wasn't easy. There were some tears as she sat there, one day after X-rays confirmed her leg was broken. She had been attempting to go through her warmup for the balance-beam routine when the pain became too much.
At the end of tonight's routines, she said that as long as the U.S. wins an Olympic gold medal, "it will be OK."
"It's been sore," she said of her leg. "It had been bothering me a little while. I was hoping it was just a little bit of shin splints. (The break) came out of nowhere. It hurt."
She had not even considered something like this could happen.
"I think it's still kind of settling in. I keep hoping I'll wake up and this was a dream. Or a nightmare. It's devastating, but I'm here to support the team. As long as USA wins it's all good."
Will she be back in four years?
"Four years is a long time. My goal was always to be an Olympian and it's still a goal. It was hard watching tonight. I'm trying to put a happy face on it and be happy for everybody else."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Shayla Worley, her leg propped up, is surrounded by her fellow gymnasts during the final day of competition at the USA Gymnastics Olympic selection camp. Credit: David J. Phillip / Associated Press
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Nearly two hours after they had finished competing, the Olympic gymnastics team and three alternates were trying on 16 possible Olympic competition leotards.
There were purple ones and bubble-gum pink ones, black ones, red ones, white ones, red-white-and-blue ones. Some had stars, some had stripes, some had stars and stripes. It reportedly takes swimmers 20 minutes to put on the skin-tight Lazr Racer swimsuits, but the gymnasts were changing in and out of the leotards in mere seconds.
The consensus favorite color was purple. "Everyone looks good in purple," Alicia Sacramone said. Finally, at about 10 p.m. here in Texas, the tired girls were back in their own warmups and leaving this Olympic selection process for good.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas — Martha Karolyi walked out of the gym with a chipper smile and a perky sentence.
"The clock is ticking," she said.
About 45 minutes later, Karolyi and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics selection committee marched into gym to make the announcement:
Joining automatic qualifiers Shawn Johnson, 16, of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Nastia Liukin, 18, of Parker, Texas, on the six-woman U.S. Olympic  team will be a pair of 20-year-olds, Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., and a pair of 16-year-olds, Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis. Named as alternates were 18-year-old Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla.; 15-year-old Ivana Hong of Laguna Hills; and 16-year-old Corrie Lothrop of Gaithersburg, Md.
After competing in two rounds of national championships and two more rounds of Olympics trials, only two Olympic spots had been determined. Twelve girls were invited to this final training camp at the Karolyi ranch. Last year’s national all-around silver medalist Shayla Worley suffered a broken leg Friday night while warming up for her balance beam routine.
She watched Saturday’s final routines on the sidelines with her leg in a brace and some tears in her eyes. At the end, she said as long as the U.S. wins an Olympic gold medal "it will be OK."
Hong was a member of last year’s U.S. world championship team and Bieger had been world all-around silver medalist in 2006.
Mattie Larson, 16, of Los Angeles competed Saturday night with a possible stress fracture in her left leg. Her mother, Gail Larson, said the sore leg was why her daughter only competed in one event, uneven bars.
"It wasn’t meant to be," Gail Larson said. "At least not this time."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: The U.S. team, left to right: Chellsie Memmel, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Shawn Johnson and Bridget Sloan. Credit: David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Inset: Alicia Sacramone competes in the balance beam ahead of the final selection. David J. Phillip/Associated Press
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Joining defending world all-around champion Shawn Johnson, 16, and nine-time world medalist Nastia Liukin, 18, on the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team will be 20-year-old Alicia Sacramone, 16-year-old Samantha Peszek, 20-year-old Chellsie Memmel and 16-year-old Bridget Sloan. The alternates are Jana Bieger, Ivan Hong and Corrie Lothrop.
Mattie Larson, 16, of L.A., competed tonight with a probable stress fracture in one leg, which likely kept her from winning an alternate spot.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas --- Only four more routines left.
Chelsea Davis is up first, and what she might have on the line is an alternate's position. Davis' score of 15.200 might have earned her that honor.
Shawn Johnson had nothing on the line except practice, and when she was done, Johnson was giving everyone high fives. She scored a 16.300.
Peszek was up next. She smiled through every solid somersault and flip and scored 15.700.
The final competitor of this two-month selection process was veteran and emotional team leader Alicia Sacramone. The 20-year-old let no one down with her wobble-free work. Even the landing had barely a tremor. She earned a 16.200.
Now the wait begins. Expect a 20- to 30-minute wait before the final team is announced.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Uneven bars is the event where the U.S. stands to lose big points to the Chinese. Three potential Chinese team members have posted bars scores well over 17 while only Nastia Liukin has done the same for the U.S.
So it is no surprise that nine of the 11 healthy girls here at the final selection camp are doing uneven bars tonight, even guaranteed team members Liukin and Shawn Johnson.
First up, Ivana Hong had a near stop and scored 14.850. That may have been her last chance to earn one of the six team spots. Memmel followed with a cautiously solid 15.900 routine with only a step on the landing as an obvious error. If Memmel was feeling insecure about her spot after hurting her neck Friday, she and her father and coach Andy were looking relieved after that performance.
Sloan, who had knee surgery last March and needs to show continuing improvement, didn't. Her routine wasn't confident and her 14.900 score showed that. Liukin almost fell on her landing and had a 16.650. She hasn't scored a 17 or higher since nationals in early June.
Jana Bieger, who also is in a fight for the final spot, fell on the same release move for the second time in two days, It took her several seconds to remount the bars and when she finished Bieger went into a corner with her back turned to the gym. Her mother and coach Andrea, a former West German national team gymnast, spoke to her daughter then walked away. Bieger remained sitting in the corner as Samantha Peszek competed.
Bieger received her score of 15.000 (it would have been 15.800 without the fall), then put on her warmups and left the corner after Peszek finished a solid routine.
Other unevens scores: Mattie Larson, 14.750; Peszek, 15.400; Chelsea Davis, 15.100; Shawn Johnson -- in her first appearance of the night, a 15.750.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Three of the girls still trying to secure their team spots -- Ivana Hong, Chellsie Memmel and Bridget Sloan -- competed on vault.
Hong had great height but a less secure landing and received a 14.950. Memmel didn't have the same kind of explosive height, also had an insecure landing and posted a 14.650. Sloan, with a more difficult vault, earned a 15.100.
The best vaulter of the four competitors was Corrie Lothrop. She had a 15.200 and might put herself in the running as one of the alternates.
Bela Karolyi, who has no official role in choosing the team, was almost making the fans nervous with his energetic pacing.
Former Soviet world champion Svetlana Boginskaya and former U.S. team member Kristie Phillips are also in attendance. A member of the selection committee, Phillips gave birth to twin daughters two weeks ago.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: At the U.S. Olympic trials in June, Corrie Lothrop competed in the vault. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- On the final night of the women's Olympic gymnastics selection process, girls have to perform on only two of the four events, though team coordinator Martha Karolyi said she would be happy with anyone who performed more than twice. On the start list, though, no one is scheduled to do more than two routines.
Chellsie Memmel, who hurt her neck Friday, was listed as competing on vault and uneven bars.
Nerves were apparent.
Alicia Sacramone was up first on the first event, the floor exercise. She went out of bounds once and received a score of 15.400. Jana Bieger, who may be on the bubble for the last of the six spots, went out of bounds twice during her routine and left the mat with her head down. She posted a score of 15.000. Nastia Liukin, the third one up, had one big step off the mat and was given a 15.400.
Only one other girl, 16-year-old Corrie Lothrop of Gaithersburg, Md., did the floor -- and she stayed in bounds! Lothrop also doesn't have a chance to be anything but an alternate. Her score was 14.850.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- America's sweetheart, Mary Lou Retton, is here for the final night of the selection process for the 2008 women's U.S. Olympics gymnastics team.
"I'd never want to be on that selection committee,' Retton said. "Being on that committee tonight has got to be the toughest job in the world."
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas — Paul Hamm, the defending Olympic all-around gold medalist, was certified today as having made suitable progress from a hand injury and will remain part of the six-member U.S. men’s gymnastics team.
Hamm, 25, of Waukesha, Wis., went through a series of tests and routines in front of a group of judges today at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Hamm did full routines on still rings, high bar, pommel horse and vault and partial routines on parallel bars and floor exercise. "I was pretty nervous," Hamm said. "I felt like a real competition. I feel like I’m 90, 95%. I still have some pain but the doctor tells me there’s very little chance the bone can break again."
Asked whether China should be worried about him and the U.S. team, Hamm said, "They should be worried. China’s a great team and definitely the team to beat but we look really strong right now. Also Yang Wei [China’s all-around favorite] should be a little worried too. He’s probably counting on me being out."
Hamm broke a bone in his right hand on May 22, the first night of the U.S. national championship competition in Houston that was the first part of the Olympic qualifying procedure.
The injury came during his parallel bars routine, the final of his six apparatus performances on that night, and even though Hamm fell after suffering the break, he finished the routine and led the competition by almost four points.
After missing the second night of the nationals, Hamm had surgery to insert nine pins to help the bone heal more quickly. He missed the two rounds of the Olympic trials but his petition to be put on the team was accepted with the caveat that he had to prove he was moving toward physical readiness.
"The selection committee is very satisfied and confirms Paul Hamm’s spot on the Olympic team," Dennis McIntyre, USA men’s program senior director, said. "We had an intersquad meet today and used four judges, all four were judges at our Olympic trials."
Besides Paul Hamm, his twin brother Morgan, Joseph Hagerty, Justin Spring, Jonathan Horton and Kevin Tan were named to the team last month. Rav Bhavjar, David Durante and Alexander Artemev are the alternates.
The women’s team will be named later today here at Bela and Martha Karolyi’s ranch.
Hamm's website shows some recent video of him in action.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Olympic champion Paul Hamm showed off his injured hand during a June 19 news conference in Philadelphia. Credit: Rob Carr/Associated Press
 NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- In her first year of competing at the elite senior level of gymnastics, 16-year-old Mattie Larson of Los Angeles has made it to the final 12 in the USA Olympic selection process.
After performing for a few dozen fans and the USA selection committee Friday at the Bela and Martha Karolyi ranch, Larson said she will be satisfied with whatever decisions are made Saturday.
While it's unlikely that Larson will be part of the final six-woman competitive team that is named Saturday night, it would not be surprising if one of a trio newcomers -- Larson, 15-year-old Chelsea Davis of Austin, Texas (she's coached by former world champion Kim Zmeskal) or 16-year-old Corrie Lothrop of Gaithersburg, Md. -- is selected as one of the Olympic team alternates.
"Being an alternate would be so great and a big accomplishment for me," Larson said. "But whatever happens, this has been really a good learning experience. This is just the start. I can hardly wait for next year."
U.S. team director Martha Karolyi said she expects Larson, Davis and Lothrop to be the core for the United States in the next couple of years when veterans such as Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin likely move on.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Mattie Larson in May. Credit: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Alicia Sacramone were stellar on the balance beam, each posting scores of 16.200.
Chellsie Memmel, wearing an elastic patch on her upper back after suffering an injury during the floor exercise, returned after missing two rotations. She suffered one small bobble on the beam but hit a strong landing and gave a fierce raised arm salute to the judges. She scored a 15.900.
Bubble sitters Ivana Hong and Bridget Sloan both finished strong. Sloan's 15.600 beam score brought a smile to her normally frowning face. Hong's steady landing and 15.300 score won her a big hug from coach Al Fong.
Other scores: Samantha Peszek, 15.500; Corrie Lothrop, 15.300; Mattie Larson, 15.000; Chelsea Davis (one fall), 14.600.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Alicia Sacramone on the balance beam during the Olympic Trials last month in Philadelphia. Credit: Stew Milne / US PRESSWIRE
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- X-rays showed that Shayla Worley suffered an acute fracture of her right fibula earlier today while warming up on the balance beam.
In other words she has a broken leg.
USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said doctors are still evaluating the injury and would not say for certain whether Worley is out of the mix for the Olympic Team. But it seems unlikely that the 2007 U.S. Nationals all-around runner-up could be healed in time for the Beijing Games that begin in August.
The biggest blow to the U.S. women would be losing Worley's scores on the uneven bars. Other than Nastia Liukin, no other Americans consistently score above 15.500.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Shayla Worley competes on the balance beam during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Philadelphia last month. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- This isn't presidential politics, but opinions and momentum can change just as quickly.
Jana Bieger, who would need to make a big contribution on the uneven bars if she takes the sixth spot on this team, took a bad fall on a release move. She landed with a thud that might have been felt 60 miles away in Houston and scored a 14.850.
In comparison, Ivana Hong, who also is clawing for the sixth spot, enjoyed one of her best uneven routines. She hit the landing, smiled big and scored 15.300.
Chellsie Memmel, who hurt her neck or upper back during her second tumbling pass on the floor exercise, chose not to compete. Earlier, she opted out of the vault.
Nastia Liukin, who has scored over 17 four times on this routine, seemed slow and less precise than she had been at nationals and trials, and she had a 16.600.
Other scores: Shawn Johnson, 15.650; Chelsea Davis and Bridget Sloan, 15.200; Samantha Peszek, 14.800; Mattie Larson and Corrie Lothrop, 14.700.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Jana Bieger competes on the uneven bars during the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia last month. Credit: Stew Milne / US PRESSWIRE
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Chellsie Memmel, who hurt her lower neck or upper back on her floor exercise rotation earlier today, did not compete in the vault after trying to swivel her neck following a warm up vault.
Teammate Alicia Sacramone kept shaking her head "no," as if trying to persuade Memmel not to risk further injury.
USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said that Memmel hasn't pulled out of the rest of the meet but that she would warm up for each of her remaining two events -- uneven bars and balance beam -- to determine how she feels.
Here are the vault scores for those who did compete: Shawn Johnson, 15.950; Bridget Sloan, 15.300; Samantha Peszek, 15.200; Corrie Lothrop, 15.100; Ivana Hong, 15.000; Chelsea Davis, 14.950; Jana Bieger, 14.800; Nastia Liukin, 14.700; Mattie Larson, 14.600.
Sacramone scored 15.950 on her first vault, and 15.600 on her second. She did two vaults, which was necessary to qualify for the event final, which is Sacramone's aim.
-- Diane Pucin
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- As we keep being told, scores from this afternoon's mini-competition aren't the be-all, end-all. Still, six judges are giving scores.
So here goes: Shawn Johnson got a 15.800, even though she went out of bounds. Mattie Larson was second with 15.400. It's too bad Larson isn't seasoned enough, because her pulsing, perky floor routine is a crowd pleaser.
Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan scored 15.300. Chelsea Davis had 15.150. Nastia Liukin and Corrie Lothrop had 15.100, and Ivana Hong had a 15.000.
Chellsie Memmel didn't get a score because she pulled up when she hurt her neck.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Mattie Larson performs her floor exercise during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Philadelphia last month. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- USA gymnastics officials say that Shayla Worley felt a pop in her right ankle while warming up on the balance beam and may have broken a bone. Worley was wearing a boot on the ankle as well as using crutches when she left the gym.
On her second tumbling pass on floor exercise, Chellsie Memmel landed hard out of bounds and started to slip backward. As she tried to regain her balance, Memmel snapped her neck. She stopped her routine immediately and the gym fell silent.
As Jana Bieger stepped up to do her routine, Bela Karolyi came to Memmel's side and massaged her neck. As Memmel sat with her neck leaning on a mat Karolyi said, "She will be fine."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Chellsie Memmel on the balance beam during the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia on June 22. Credit: Stew Milne / US Presswire
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- The final pool of 12 girls from which the Olympic women's gymnastics team will be selected has been here at the Karolyi ranch since Wednesday doing routines over and over in front of coaches, the selection committee, family and friends of Bela Karolyi and about 12 media members.
Saturday night, about 5:15 Pacific time, team coordinator Martha Karolyi will announce the team. We know Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin have already earned their places. Nobody else has.
We haven't seen these women since the Olympic trials. Every movement matters here, every stretch, every pointed toe.
When Mattie Larson fell off the balance beam twice during her warmups, she frowned and buried her head in her hands.
When Ivana Hong, who is definitely fighting for the final spot, hopped, skipped, jumped, tumbled and landed every pass across that same beam with a glowering thud, Martha Karolyi said, "Very nice, Ivana." Hong smiled.
These workouts will last for about four hours. Scores may be given but what's important are the landings, the ability to hit every tumbling pass, the ability to ignore the FOB's in the gym -- Friends of Bela. There's an assortment of perfectly coiffed and made up women and men who smell of money who have been invited to see this intense practice.
Former Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton is scheduled to arrive tomorrow to offer moral support for the girls who miss the team and a reminder to the others of what is possible next month -- a gold medal, a Wheaties box, a life as an inspirational speaker.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: In May, the gymnasts were at the Karolyi ranch, where they follow the three p's -- practice, perform, perfection. Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times
NEW WAVERLY, Texas -- Already a big blow to a hopeful. Shayla Worley, who was on last year's world championship team and who was second at the 2007 nationals in all-around, pulled out of today's practice meet with an injury to her right lower leg.
She just wordlessly left the gym on crutches and in tears.
Worley has struggled all season with a back injury, had missed nationals and only did some events at the Olympic trials. It was important for Worley to show fitness at this camp. This new injury seems to mean that Worley is out of contention for the final spot that seems open for either Ivana Hong, Jana Bieger, Bridget Sloan or Worley to take.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: In June, Shayla Worley competed on the balance beam during day four of the Olympic trials in Philadelphia. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images
It was something of the mountain/molehill hubbub. Morgan Hamm had a cortisone shot May 2, then failed a drug test not because a cortisone shot is a banned substance but because no one in Morgan's camp remembered to fill out required paperwork stating the shot was for therapeutic purposes.
Wednesday the USA Gymnastics federation and the United States Olympic Committee reaffirmed the obvious -- Morgan would receive no more punishment than the warning he had already received from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Morgan remains a member of the U.S.men's Olympic team.
Since the announcement of the failed test came a couple of weeks ago there had been speculation that Morgan's results from U.S. nationals, where the failed test turned up, would be negated and jeopardize his selection to the team. Others wrote that whether or not Morgan and Coach Miles Avery made an honest mistake, they had broken a rule in a stupid way that was unforgivable.
Sometimes a crime isn't really a crime. Sometimes it is neglected paper work. Morgan's indiscretion was passed to the USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the international gymnastics federation (FIG). None of those organizations is prone to giving the U.S. the benefit of the doubt so it seems that Hamm and Avery were telling the truth. Morgan's ankle hurt, his doctor said take some cortisone, it's what I'd give any patient. Morgan agreed but didn't sign on the dotted line.
USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said the men's selection committee reran the numbers, taking out Hamm's results on the day he failed the doping test.
"They absolutely went back and reviewed this," Penny said. "There were two questions. One, would he have advanced to the trials? The answer was yes. And two, would he still have been selected to the Olympic team? And the answer again was yes."
Here's a link to Paul and Morgan's blog about their journey to making the Olympic team, which includes Paul's return to working some apparatus for the first time since he broke a bone in his hand last May at nationals as well as Morgan's explanation of how and why he had the cortisone shot.
Paul will be in Colorado Springs this weekend trying to prove to the selection committee that he is making adequate progress from his injury and will be able to compete at the Olympics. Morgan will remain on the team where his floor routine, pommel horse work and difficult vaults are needed for the U.S. team score. If his achy ankle needs another cortisone shot before Beijing, Morgan says he'll take one. And then sign the papers.
-- Diane Pucin
A week after Paul Hamm was cleared to do gymnastics again, his coach told the Associated Press that he was happy with the Olympic gold medalist’s progress. (If you want to see how Hamm is doing post-broken hand, check out the video on his website.)
Miles Avery said Hamm was training in five events, including doing a full routine on pommel horse, but wasn't yet vaulting. That will likely will start next week — just in time for the July 19 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he must show he is physically able to compete at the Beijing Olympics.
"It relieves some of that stress of, 'Are we going to get this done?' ... He does have a little pain in it, but he continues icing and doing the things you need to do to keep it under control," Avery told AP.
"So far, so good."
Hamm broke the fourth metacarpal in his right hand May 22 in the final seconds of his parallel bars routine at the national championships. Five days later, hand specialist Dr. Lawrence Lubbers repaired the break with a titanium plate and nine small screws.
The men’s competition in Beijing begins Aug. 9.
-- Debbie Goffa
Australian Olympic gymnastics coach Peggy Liddick, who is well known in the U.S. as one of Shannon Miller's coaches during the 1990s, last week named the Aussie women's Olympic team.
She picked a young squad that is anchored by three-time national champion Daria Joura. The 18-year-old qualified for the all-around finals at last year's world championships, and uses the same floor exercise music, "The Assassin's Theme", as Los Angeles-based gymnast Mattie Larson.
Also on the team are five Olympic first-timers : Lauren Mitchell, 16; Olivia Vivian, 18; Shona Morgan and Ashleigh Brennan, both 17, and 18-year-old Georgia Bonora.
-- Diane Pucin
U.S. women's gymnasts are preparing for a final selection camp on July 17-18 at the Karolyi ranch outside Houston. And, according to International Gymnast magazine, the Russian team also has selected the final group of men and women to attend training camps that will determine the final team by month's end.
Notable exceptions who didn't get invites are two-time Olympians Alexei Bondarenko and Yelena Zamolodchikova.
Zamolodchikova, 25, won individual gold medals in vault and floor exercise at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, as well as a team silver in 2000 and a team bronze in Athens in 2004.
Bondarenko, 29, who won a vault silver medal in 2000, was a favorite in Athens. As the first competitor in the event finals, however, he took a bad fall and was in severe pain. Athletes must complete a second vault to qualify for a medal. Bondarenko attempted his second vault, but collapsed at the end. He was carried out of the arena on a stretcher and suffered a back injury.
International Gymnast has published a list of the Russian athletes on the training squad.
-- Diane Pucin
EUGENE, Ore. -- A few quick words in response to comments made about my blog post regarding Morgan Hamm's positive test for a prohibited substance, and my assertion that he should be dropped from the team.
First, let's be clear: the shot he took contained what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and FIG (the International Gymnastics Federation) classify as a "prohibited substance." Those are USADA's words, not mine, straight from the agency's news release.
If it is being used for therapeutic purposes, the proper paperwork must be filed. Hamm did not do that. If he didn't know, which seems highly unlikely given that he has been an elite-level athlete for many years, his coach certainly did.
And ignorance is not an excuse for breaking a law in any setting.
As for the suggestion that he was in great pain and just decided to get a shot without worrying about paperwork, that doesn't hold up. No athlete just decides to take a shot to alleviate sudden pain. Every elite athlete knows to be careful about everything that he or she ingests.
I've seen athletes refuse to drink from opened water bottles because they feared the water might have been contaminated and that they could test positive for something later. They know they are responsible for whatever they put into their bodies and they know that rules must be followed.
Part of the punishment he accepted is the erasure of his results at the U.S. championships. His selection to the Beijing team was partly based on those results. If they're wiped out, should he still be on the team? I say no. But I doubt USA Gymnastics will agree.
-- Helene Elliott
EUGENE, Ore. -- Straying off the track and into the gym for a minute, let's discuss Morgan Hamm's positive steroid test, announced today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
He got only a warning, but he should be thrown off the team.
USA Gymnastics doesn't have the guts to do that because it would alienate Hamm's twin brother, Paul, and without a committed Paul Hamm the U.S. men's team won't go far in Beijing.
Sorry, but it's tough to believe the excuse that Morgan Hamm didn't know or forgot that he had to file paperwork with USA Gymnastics before getting the steroid injection. He's not a kid. He's trying to qualify for his third Olympic team. He has been through this before and has to have known that any drug he takes, even if given for a legitimate medical use, must be accounted for.
But he'll get a pass because the men's team needs his floor exercise scores. Would USA Gymnastics do the same if his last name weren't Hamm?
-- Helene Elliott
 It was a privilege when I got to chronicle Lance Armstrong's final three Tour de France victories, an exhilirating experience to see the daily pageantry of the Tour stages and to witness athletic history being made. I grew to love the sport as well, to marvel in the efforts it took to pedal a bicycle through 100-degree heat, fog and rain over 10,000-foot-high mountains.
Even as it became impossible to ignore the crescendo of drug scandals, I still always think about how hard it was to drive a car up the switchbacks of L'Alpe d'Huez and almost understand why cyclists used extreme measures to keep up their endurance.
So today I was in the middle of a phone call to a cycling team director in France, who was speaking about how cycling was feeling a glimmer of hope. The Tour de France starts Saturday, and there are several new team sponsors and some optimism for the beleaguered sport. While I was talking, I clicked on an e-mail from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announcing that gymnast Morgan Hamm had tested positive for a banned substance. The cycling team director said, "Hah, if that had been a cyclist, he'd already have a two-year ban."
According to Hamm and his coach, Miles Avery, Hamm took a cortisone shot in his sprained ankle on May 2. The ankle has been troubling Hamm all season. According to the USADA
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 Gymnast Morgan Hamm, twin brother of 2004 gold medalist Paul Hamm, was given a warning today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for testing positive for a banned substance.
The bottom line: he had a cortisone injection and then failed to put through the paperwork required for an exemption. Diane Pucin will blog more about this later today, so stay tuned.
-- Debbie Goffa
Photo: Morgan Hamm during the Olympic trials two weeks ago. Credit: Howard Smith / US Presswire
 Paul Hamm’s doctor said the gold medalist's broken hand is healed enough that he can return to regular gymnastics.
That gives Hamm five weeks to get ready for the Beijing Games.
Dr. Lawrence Lubbers, the hand specialist who operated on Hamm on May 27, said that an X-ray showed enough healing and that Hamm was thrilled with the news.
"You could just kind of see him light up when he was looking at the X-ray," Lubbers told AP.
"His hand therapist said he looked like a thoroughbred bursting out of the gate to get back to the gym."
Hamm earned a spot on the Olympic team, but on July 19 he will have to prove to gymnastics officials that he is able to compete in Beijing.
-- Debbie Goffa
Photo: At the Olympic gymnastic trials two weeks ago, Paul Hamm shows his hand to reporters. Credit: Rob Carr / Associated Press
 It's hard to find those backyard trampolines anymore. Fears of the neighbor kids bouncing up, off and down and breaking things and suing and stuff. But trampoline is an Olympic sport, just one the U.S. isn't great at.
But in Kansas City, Mo., tonight, the U.S. finished its qualification process and nominated one male, Chris Estrada of Colorado Springs, Colo., and one female, Erin Blanchard of Lafayette, La., to the Olympic trampoline team.
Logan Dooley of Lake Forest is the men's alternate and Alaina Hebert of Broussard, La., is the women's.
This is the first time a U.S. male has qualified for the Olympics in trampoline. It is the third straight appearance for the women. Watching the sport is kind of fun in that way you watch the X-Games skateboarders holding your breath and waiting for the thud.
If you're looking for favorites, here's the list of medalists at the 2007 world championships:
For the women: 1. Irina Karavaeva of Russia; 2. Huang Shanshan of China; 3. Rosannagh MacLennan of Canada.
For the men: 1. Ye Shuai of China; 2. Dong Dong of China; 3. Yasuhiro Ueyama of Japan.
And the trampoline ticket in Beijing is supposed to be tough to get. Is there a Chinese version of Stub Hub?
Here, also, is a YouTube clip of the Athens men's gold medal routine. It is Yuri from Ukraine. Don't try it at home, even if you still have that trampoline.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Chris Estrada performs on the trampoline at the national championships in May. Credit: Brett Davis / US Presswire
PHILADELPHIA -- USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny compared the women's Olympic team selection procedure as kind of like cycling, even though that's a sport that has been awfully drug-tainted recently.
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PHILADELPHIA -- The lobby scene at a hotel full of gymnasts is different. It is shorter and the noise level is more high-pitched. That's not a bad thing.
On Sunday night it was fun to see the men's and women's Olympic (and still Olympic hopeful) gymnasts let their hair down.
Really. Jana Bieger's whole face was softened when she loosened her tightly pulled ponytail.
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 PHILADELPHIA -- So T.J. Simers seems to think (female only) gymnasts are some sort of abused, artificially shortened mutants being used as unwitting pawns in their parents' evil plan to create tiny, glory-hounds who are sent away from home as babies until they win an Olympic medal. Then apparently they are unchained and allowed to grow to normal size, have menstrual cycles and be physically (for some) and emotionally stunted adults.
Just FYI, Shawn Johnson's parents Doug and Teri are no more than an inch or two (or maybe three for Doug) taller than their 4-foot-9 daughter. Who goes to her local high school, lives at home, went to prom and makes one trip a month to a U.S. training camp in Houston.
Samantha Peszek's mother Luann was a gymnast and the former USA director of public relations. It's probably not an upset nor any more "abusive" that Sam is a gymnast than if her mother had been a doctor and Sam went to medical school or if her father had been a vet and Sam volunteered at an animal shelter for a few hours a week.
If T.J. would like to move into the 21st century of gymnastics observations, he would notice
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PHILADELPHIA -- After four rounds of intense competition at U.S. nationals and Olympic trials five of the six women's Olympic team spots seem obvious -- automatic qualifiers Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin; vault and floor star Alicia Sacramone; consistent Samantha Peszek and 2005 world champion and newly healthy Chellsie Memmel.
Even though 15-year-old Ivana Hong finished fifth overall at the Olympic trials and Jana Bieger finished sixth, U.S. team coordinator Martha Karolyi was more critical of Hong.
"She needs to be more confident," Karolyi said. "I was expecting to see more confidence."
Karolyi then praised the resoluteness of Bieger, who was the 2006 world champion all-around silver medalist. "She is getting better and better," Karolyi said.
-- Diane Pucin
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."
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PHILADELPHIA -- Alicia Sacramone stood amid the falling red, white and blue confetti and watched as Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and six American men were announced as Olympians. Sacramone rolled her eyes afterward and said, "I was kind of wishing I was one of the boys."
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PHILADELPHIA -- Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin earned the two automatic Olympic team berths that were awarded Sunday night after the second round of the U.S. Olympic trials. But the big winner may have been Jana Bieger, who finished sixth in the all around.
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 PHILADELPHIA -- The third rotation is over, and it's good news for L.A.'s Mattie Larson.
UPS: Larson is gaining momentum. She hit a third straight routine, punching through her balance beam routine, nailing the landing and smiling for the first time of the night. In-house radio commentator Shannon Miller has begun mentioning that Larson could be a darkhorse team contender. She scored 15.050, an improvement from Friday.
Chellsie Memmel barely had a bobble on her balance beam routine. Though only the first two all-around finshers earn automatic Olympic team invitations tonight, this crowd that is chanting "Chellsie's on, Chellsie's on," would appreciate if the team selection committee were to choose Memmel Sunday night as well. It's not as if Memmel won't make the team (barring a training injury, of course). She scored 16.100.
We're spoiled. Shawn Johnson hits connective moves, consecutive laybacks, has a tiny balance check on twirl, a baby step on her landing. Ho hum. Another 16.200 on a four-inch wide piece of wood. She reclaimed first place with that fierce demonstration of both concentration and enjoyment.
After stepping out of bounds on her floor exercise Thursday, Jana Bieger used every millimeter of the mat tonight, had her heel on the chalk outlines but never got yellow-flagged for going out of bounds. She scored 14.700, not spectacular but for the third straight routine she has improved from Friday.
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 PHILADELPHIA -- Chellsie Memmel turns 20 Monday and Bridget Sloan turns 16. Signs are up in the Wachovia Center with birthday wishes. Each has only one wish: making that Olympic team.
Also, 16-year-old Mackenzie Caquatto of Naperville, Ill., was a late scratch Sunday. While U.S. gymnastics officials did not immediately give a reason, it was later learned that Caquatto, who was not in contention for an Olympic spot, apparently pulled a hamstring.
UP: Nastia Liukin moved ahead of Shawn Johnson in the all-around standings with her jam-packed balance beam routine that scored 15.850.
Young Mattie Larson did a second straight solid routine -- uneven bars this time. Her routine isn't packed with difficulty (she scored 14.900), but when the selection committee is considering alternates they'll look for someone who is steady and can be put up on any apparatus in team qualifying and who will not have a big miss. Shawn Johnson's coach Liang Chow gave Larson a big hug. Bela Karolyi jumped to his feet when Chellsie Memmel sped through a pointy-toed, high-swinging, stuck-landing uneven bars routine. She beat bars queen Nastia Liukin with her score of 16.400.
Because she is soft-spoken and steady, because she isn't quite good enough to challenge Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, because she is usually third or fourth and reliably on her way to making the Olympic team, Samantha Peszek gets overlooked. Peszek just posted
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PHILADELPHIA -- Not anybody's favorite position but Shawn Johnson was first girl up Sunday. She's wearing deep purple and Shawn did her 2 1/2 twisting Yurchenko. She had one step forward but otherwise the vault was textbook and she scored 15.900.
UP: Ivana Hong, 15, wore Tiger Woods red and did a confident uneven bars routine. After she landed, Hong's coach, Al Fong, raised his arms and shouted "Yes!" to the judges. Fong is trying hard to sell his pupil to the selection committee that has noted Hong has seemed insecure in her performances so far. Mattie Larson of Los Angeles, after missing badly twice during warmups, flew into her vault and was so high in the air the crowd gasped. She took a step on the landing and then puffed out her cheeks with a nervous sigh. She scored 14.700 and team coordinator Martha Karolyi nodded positively.
DOWN: Nastia Liukin, also wearing sparkling red, had her worst uneven bars performance of the four rounds of nationals and Olympic trials. She had to save her swings twice and scored 16.150. Liukin looked tired. Bridget Sloan looked nervous on unevens. Her handstands were crooked and she needed an extra swing to stay upright. As one of the girls, along with Hong, Jana Bieger and Shayla Worley in the mix for the final spot on the team, her score of 14.500 caused Sloan to wrinkle her face in disappointment.
Bieger twirled large and scored big, 15.700, on uneven bars. The normally stern Bieger smiled and earned a hug from her mother, Andrea, who is also her coach.
Chellsie Memmel, in purple, had a knee-rattling vault landing. If she hopes to pass either Johnson or Liukin as one of the top two all-arounders and earn an automatic Olympic spot tonight, that 14.200 score didn't help.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Nastia Liukin proved to be a little shaky on uneven bars. Credit: Al Bello / Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA -- The committee that picked the U.S. men's Olympic gymnastics team generally got it right, picking Joseph Hagerty for his 23-for-24 performance at nationals and the trials and omitting Sasha Artemev, who was only one for four on the pommel horse, which is supposed to be his specialty.
The only arguable omission is Raj Bhavsar, who finished in the top three in three events and is an exciting performer. The committee already took a calculated risk in giving a spot to Paul Hamm, who must demonstrate that his broken hand has healed. In addition, Morgan Hamm and Justin Spring are each hampered by injuries. Bhavsar competed well and ended up an alternate for the second successive Games, a cruel fate.
"I went up to my hotel room laughing at the hilarity of the situation, in a sense," he said. "Kind of keep it light-hearted....It's tough. I hope at the end of the day and later on in life I've got a great story to tell about uplifting the human spirit and being selfless."
But right now ...
"It's tough," he said. "Of course, it's tough. But hopefully it's not what team you're on or what medal you win that defines you as a person. That's not how I live my life. I know there's much more to life than making an Olympic team. I'm going to set goals again and go after them with the same tenacity I went after this one."
This isn't the last you'll hear from him.
-- Helene Elliott
The men's team was supposed to be announced at noon PDT or 3 EDT, and nothing happened when the hour struck. In fact, it was about an hour later that the U.S. men's gymnastics Olympic selection committee provided the list.
But between noon and 1 p.m., word was that the selection committee was, well, a bit confused.
 It wasn't surprising because there were a few things to figure out. By measure of all the numbers taken from U.S. nationals and Olympic trials, to include Josephy Hagerty on the team would hypothetically give the U.S. its highest team score. And they did include him in the end.
And leaving off injured David Sender, the new American all-around champion who injured his ankle during warmups last Wednesday and didn't compete in the trials would be, as Sender said, "an unfair decision." And it may be unfair, but that was the committee's decision.
Yet numbers couldn't tell the committee how a young and inexperienced gymnast would do in a hostile foreign environment and the gym in Beijing will be both. Gymnasts such as Morgan Hamm (two Olympics), Raj Bhavsar (two world championship teams), David Durante (three world championships), and Alexander Artemev (three world championship teams) have that experience.
It's not always good experience, though. Artemev fell off his signature apparatus, pommel horse, at worlds in Stuttgart last year, but he is also capable of a medal-winning performance.
Experience won out, to a point. Morgan Hamm made the team. But Bhavsar, Durante and Artemev were picked as alternates.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: For David Sender, shown here after being injured, Sunday brought only more disappointment. Credit: Rob Carr / Associated Press
U.S. Olympic-hopeful gymnasts are, in many ways, victims of child abuse. That is T.J. Simers' take today in The Times. But it's the second half of his column and you'll need to read to the end to see how he really feels.
Here is a sampling: "Let me just say I have nothing against pygmies — just youngsters who go out of their way to grow no bigger than pygmies. I’m speaking of gymnasts, and those disgusting pictures in the newspaper from the U.S. Olympic trials of the little darlings ..."
But his point seems to be a good one. Let kids be kids.
-- Debbie Goffa
PHILADELPHIA -- Raj Bhavsar is also on the bubble for selection to the U.S. men's gymnastics team and is prepared for whatever comes.
Bhavsar, 27, competed in the 2000 trials and didn't make the team. He was an alternate for the Athens Games and didn't compete in 2005. He came back in 2006 and has competed at an elite level ever since, a victory in itself.
Asked what he'd like people to think of him, he didn't hesitate.
"I truly just want people to be extemnely happy that I found myself again and got back on my feet and on my own and made it back to the Olympic trials," he said. "I believe I have a message to tell people right there, in the sense of uplifting the human spirit.
"It's been an incredible journey to compete in three Olympic trials. It's no easy task. Whether I make the team or not there's a gold medal that I'm kind of already putting around myself in the sense of inner accomplishment and intrinsic reward."
-- Helene Elliott
Photo: Raj Bhavsar after completing his floor exercise routine Saturday night. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA -- Selection procedures for the men's and women's U.S. gymnastics teams are different, with the men setting a deadline of July 1 for announcing their squad and alternates and the women postponing that decision until July 20.
It seems logical to wait until the last possible minute, especially in a sport in which most athletes are injured or recovering from an injury.
But Dennis McIntyre, director of the men's national team, says he thinks it's better for the men to remove the suspense and know the team structure as soon as possible.
He wouldn't want to see the deadline pushed back. "Probably not for the men," he said. "Men's gymnastics and women's gymnastics is a little different, and a different philosophy. And they react, I think, to things differently.
"The men, they're a little bit older and they focus a little bit better when it comes to knowing early what their roles are, going into camp as a true preparation camp where everybody knows what their role is and expectations are. It helps them prepare much better as a team, I believe."
-- Helene Elliott
 PHILADELPHIA -- David Durante, on the bubble for making the U.S. men's Olympic gymnastics team, has some contingency plans in case his name isn't announced today.
Owner of dual U.S.-Italian citizenship, he has an apartment in Rome waiting for him to move in. He will be on a plane to Europe if he's not going to Beijing with the two athletes named on Saturday--Paul Hamm and Jonathan Horton--and the rest of the team.
"I might be moving there for a few years to kind of figure things out," said Durante, who said he has no job there but no relationship or job here to bind him. "Once you get tied down it's hard to do those things. if i want to do it, now's the time to do it."
He would be a good addition to the geam, but the need to balance event specialists and all-arounders may preclude his inclusion.
"I feel like I've still got some competitions left in me, but if it is the end I'm really happy with the way things turned out. It's a relief," he said. "If I don't get selected to the team it's going to be hard to take but I'll be able to move on eventually and I'll be cheering the guys on like you wouldn't believe. These guys are my brothers, not only my competitors."
--Helene Elliott
Photo: David Durante after completing still rings in Saturday's competition. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images
 PHILADELPHIA -- Long night ahead for some pretty good men's gymnasts.
David Durante, 2007 national champion; Alexander Artemev, 2006 pommel horse world bronze medalist; Guillermo Alvarez, competitor for the U.S. world championship team the past two years; Rav Bhavsjar, a devastated alternate for the 2004 Athens Olympic team; Morgan Hamm, key contributor to that silver-medal winning Athens team; each of them has cause to worry about being selected to the 2008 team. Durante made an eloquent plea for himself. "I'm experienced," he said. "I'm a team-first guy. Every guy knows I'll have his back, I always have."
But then team program director Dennis McIntyre, a member of the five-man Olympic selection committee said: "One thing we have plenty of is veteran leadership and experienced guys." Good thing Durante wasn't speaking to that selection committee.
Artemev is a brilliant talent, especially on pommel horse where he became the first
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PHILADELPHIA -- Paul Hamm and Jonathan Horton just received the first two Olympic bids.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Golden from just across the river in Camden, N.J., was the final performer of the night and his pounding floor exercise performance brought the nearly 12,000 fans to their feet. He scored a 15.700. With that performance and his 16.400 vault, could Golden sneak onto this team as a specialist?
UP: Kevin Tan's still rings, filled with holds that were still and level with the rings, his muscular handstands and his score of 16.550, about a point higher than anyone else on the U.S. team is capable of scoring is why Tan, 26, of Fremont, may be safely on the Olympic team though he only would be assured of competing on rings.
David Durante also left a good impression on the selection committee with a chalk dust-raising stuck dismount on his still rings routine. His score of 15.400 was satisfactory. Durante was high-fiving his teammates.
DOWN: Joseph Hagerty had a second straight rough finish with a missed landing and a 14.100 score on still rings.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Sean Golden during his floor exercise routine. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA --The Jersey boys cheering section wasn't for David Durante alone. Sean Golden of Camden was also getting vocal support from family and friends, and he drew roars for a fine, competition-ending floor exercise routine.
--Helene Elliott
 PHILADELPHIA -- Fifth rotation.
UP: David Durante, who had fallen off the pommel horse, fought through a tough middle patch where his legs hit the horse and almost came to a stop, finished strongly, raised one finger and patted the horse. His 15.050 is a score the U.S. needs on a relatively weak event.
DOWN: Joseph Hagerty showed his first hint of nerves when he was unable to complete his mount on the pommel horse and seemed sluggish through the rest of his routine. He had a score of 13.500 -- almost a point less than he scored Thursday.
Morgan Hamm had a rough landing on his vault and walked slowly off the mat with a slight limp and a grim face. His score of 15.750 was well short of the range the selection committee needs from him.
He had scored 16.000 on Thursday and that was only the third-highest of the night. In-house radio commentator Shannon Miller said Morgan was firmly on the bubble and might not make the team.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: David Durante competes on the vault during Day Two of the Olympic Trials in men's gymnastics. Credit: Stew Milne / US Presswire
PHILADELPHIA -- National all-around champion David Sender withdrew from the second day of the men's Olympic trials.
Sender, 22, of Arlington Heights, Ill., sprained his right ankle during a training mishap Wednesday. Sender, who missed Thursday's first round but had held out hope he could compete today, said he had received subtle messages that the men's Olympic selection committee wanted to see him try to compete through the sprain.
Though he was the overall winner at U.S. nationals, that was a competition where the dramatic injury
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PHILADELPHIA -- Among the most enjoyable aspects of the competition is seeing the friends and family who have come to support the gymnasts.
David Durante, from nearby Garwood, N.J., has a huge cheering section about a dozen rows up from the floor. They're all wearing white T-shirts imprinted with the words "Jersey Boys" on the front and "TEAM DURANTE 08" on the back, and they erupted in applause after his fine high bar routine on Saturday.
--Helene Elliott
PHILADELPHIA -- If there is an emotional favorite among gymnastics fans it is Raj Bhavsar, 27, of Houston. Bhavsar was devastated when he was only named an alternate on the 2004 Athens Olympic team. He didn't compete and quit the sport for nearly two years. Bhavsar said his love of gymnastics crept back slowly. He competed at the 2006 nationals and put his mind into making the 2008 team. Bhavsar's emotions play on his face, so the crowd knows by each grimace, groan, grin and fist pump whether things are going well or poorly.
UP: Things went well on his parallel bars routine, well enough that after finishing with a stuck landing that would help him score 15.700, Bhavsar made his hands into binoculars, gazed into the crowd and then applauded for them.
Jonathan Horton, hoping to be a U.S. all-around representative in Beijing put up a big rings score, 15.950.
Justin Spring worked the parallel bars with the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old in his backyard. He got a huge hug from coach Jon Valdez at the finish and a score of 15.550.
DOWN: Cal's Tim McNeil nearly sat down on his parallel bars landing. It is hard to be the guy who felt he had to be perfect to have an Olympic chance.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA --
UP: Sean Golden brought the crowd to its feet with the best vault of the meet, one that earned a 16.400. That score will be parsed by the selection committee. The men need vaulters who do high-difficulty vaults and stick the landings. Justin Spring also did a wow vault and scored 16.050.
DOWN: Alexander Artemev. He is a former world bronze medalist on pommel horse, has the U.S. counting on his speedy, high-swinging flare work and for the third time in the four rounds of nationals and trials, fell off. His score of 14.350 -- that the U.S. can get from other gymnasts who are more reliable on other events.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Second rotation is completed.
UP: Raj Bhavsar held his poses on the still rings, smiled through his Maltese Cross, had the tiniest of  steps on his landings and pumped his fists in excitement at seeing a score of 15.600. Olympic dream still alive.... Jonanthan Horton did a jam-packed, five-pass floor exercise routine and finished it off with a full in, back out dismount. His score of 15.650 was better than Thursday night.... David Durante stuck his tongue out at the end of his parallel bars routine where every handstand was held and every swing was filled with confidence. He scored 15.450.
DOWN: Morgan Hamm left out his new signature skill called the "air flare" and downgraded his final tumbling pass dismount into a double tuck and still skidded off the mat. Hamm, who had pectoral muscle surgery in January and who has been working on a sprained ankle for two months, grimaced before that final pass. His score of 14.350 was by far his worst of his two rounds at nationals and first round here. Because Hamm is only competing in four events he would be expected to score in the top four or five on all those events. Guillermo Alvarez, who was on the 2007 men's world championship team that finished fourth and finished fourth himself on floor exercise, also went out of bounds on the floor. His score of 14.900 is not what would put Alvarez on the team.
-- Diane Pucin
Top photo: Jonathan Horton during his floor exercise routine. Credit: Stew Milne / US Presswire
Photo at right: Raj Bhavsar dismounts from the rings on the second day of the men's trials. Credit: Julie Jacobson / Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Joseph Hagerty has quietly moved into being a contender. Hagerty, who is from Albuquerque, is 26, has never competed on a U.S. world championship team or even in college. He had serious shoulder surgery in 2005 and has only been competing all-around the last eight months.
But Hagerty finished third all-around at nationals in Houston in May and in the computer-generated weighted score that the U.S. selection is using to consider what mix of gymnasts will make for the strongest team, Hagerty had ranked first overall in floor exercise, first on high bar and fifth on parallel bars as well as first in the weighted all-around ranking. With that said...
WHO'S UP: Hagerty! As many of the other gymnasts fell off assorted pommel horse and high bar routines, Hagerty did a vault with only the tiniest step on the landing to score 15.850. Hagerty has said he would prefer to never be interviewed but he might be one of the two gymnasts named tonight to the men's Olympic team. We'll want him to speak.
Morgan Hamm also conquered those first-routine nerves by whipping through a crowd-pleasing high bar routine to score a 15.500.
WHO'S DOWN: Alexander Artemev fell off the high bar; Jonathan Horton had to come to a halt during an early move on the high bar, and Sean Townsend and Cal student Tim McNeill fell off the pommel horse. Raj Bhavsar, so desperately trying to make his first Olympic team, didn't fall off the horse but his shaky movement scored him only a 14.200.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Gymnastics fans who've come to Philadelphia to watch the U.S. Olympic trials get to listen to running commentary on an in-house radio that's passed out with the programs. It is provided by an assortment of former gymnasts and spices up the play-by-play with discussions of how they used to handle competition nerves ("Pee in my pants," said Brett McClure. "Barf into a garbage can," said Blaine Wilson.)
For those of you stuck at home, unable to breathe in the fresh chalk dust (really, it floats like dandruff and settles onto your hair, clothes, computer keyboard, into your water bottle. A week after gymnastics meets I can still taste the chalk dust), there are some other places to get both up-to-date results, commentary and historical background about this crop of gymnasts as well as a look at gymnasts around the world.
The most information-filled publication is by Paul Ziert, a former gymnast and coach, most notably of Bart Conner.
In addition, former U.S. Olympic team members such as John Roethlisberger and Shannon Miller offered running commentary from the men's and women's national championships and will offer more on the trials.
-- Diane Pucin
 PHILADELPHIA -- Shawn Johnson, the leader after the first phase of the women's trials, has already attracted advertisers' attention. She is one of six U.S. athletes to be featured on Coca-Cola cans and is appearing on McDonald's packaging.
Johnson had seen her image on Coke cans at home in Iowa but was startled to see them on cans in Boston during the U.S. championships. "It was so weird because I see them in Des Moines and think it's only Des Moines," she said. "They actually have it in Boston -- why would they do it? It didn't hit me that everybody gets to see it. it was really shocking."
She has also seen her face on McDonald's cups -- and yes, unlike 2004 Olympic champion Carly Patterson, who was also depicted on cups but said she had never eaten at the fast-food outlet, Johnson has visited the golden arches.
"I eat some stuff," she said. "They've got some healthy stuff, their yogurts and their salads."
Johnson also said her gym in West Des Moines, which was damaged during the floods that have ravaged parts of the Midwest, reopened on Friday. "It's completely back to normal," she said. "Of course we have no drywall but we have all our equipment.
"We had fountains coming out of the bottom of our [tumbling] pit. That was a little interesting. They got it fixed but I don't think our pit will be usable. But we saved the mats, which we put upstairs. We lost all the floors but bars, vault, beam -- we saved all of that."
--Helene Elliott
Photo: Courtesy Coca-Cola Co.
The Times' Helene Elliott writes that almost nothing is sure going in to the final night of competition at the men's gymnastics trials at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center. And that’s a credit to just how good the performances have been.
All-around gold medalist Paul Hamm, unable to compete here after breaking a bone in his right hand, is a lock to get a berth when the team is announced, perhaps as soon as Sunday. But after that, who knows.
"I can say that a lot of guys helped themselves," Ron Galimore told Elliott tonight. "The thing you always hope to have is that guys go in and hit a lot of routines and have more control of their destiny. That makes it easier on the selection committee."
Galimore, vice president of the U.S. men's gymnastics program, knows of what he speaks. Once a standout gymnast at Louisiana State and Iowa State, he was the first to score a perfect 10 in vault and won a spot on the 1980 Olympic team. But the U.S. boycott of those Moscow Games kept Galimore from competing. In April, he participated in the torch relay for the Beijing Games.
Photo: Paul Hamm's twin brother, Morgan, catches his breath after his floor exercise routine Thursday night. He tied for eighth on floor, something unexpected since he won floor at the national championships two weeks ago. Credit: Stew Milne/US Presswire
PHILADELPHIA -- Alicia Sacramone, who has been the emotional leader of the U.S. gymnastics team for the last two years, has attitude to spare. She is 20, has spent a year in college at Brown and she had no trouble making her feelings known when she received the yellow flag indicative of a step out of bounds on her floor exercise routine tonight.
"It was brought to my attention that I gave the judge the death stare," Sacramone said. "Maybe I had a big toe on the line. I didn't think I was out of bounds."
Sacramone said she used her displeasure with the call to focus her on her next event, the vault, where she hit a perfect landing and scored 15.900, second-highest total of the night.
"Yeah, it was kind of an anger-fueled thing," Sacramone said. "I guess it worked."
Sacramone does only three of the four events (she skips the uneven bars), and it is the general consensus that her strong vaulting and perky floor routine will get her on the team. It is a big change from four years ago when Sacramone missed qualifying for the Olympic trials.
"It's been a long four years," she said. "So I think I did have extra attitude going out there tonight."
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Alicia Sacramone competes in the floor exercise. At the end of it, she received a yellow flag when a judge ruled she had stepped out of bounds. Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA -- Shawn Johnson was back in the lead going into the final rotation and Nastia Liukin moved into second after Chellsie Memmel stumbled on her floor exercise. Those positions didn't change after the final rotation.
UP: Nastia Liukin left a good impression on everyone with her elegant floor routine full of intricate dance moves and worthy of her 15.700 mark. Shawn Johnson kept the overall lead though with a vault score of 15.950. Johnson had a big step on her landing but she had the biggest start value with a 6.5.
In an in-your-face response to Johnson's vault, Alicia Sacramone landed strongly on her vault and posted a 15.900. Her start value was lower than Johnson's so Johnson's step didn't cost her the lead.
DOWN: Bridget Sloan, trying to convince the Olympic selection committee that she can power through her sore knee, flew out of bounds twice on floor exercise and received only a 14.550. And Shayla Worley, who missed the national championships because of a back injury, didn't make any deep impressions with a below-average vault score of 14.600.
Also Jana Bieger stepped well out of bounds on her first tumbling pass. If a gymnast steps out with only one foot it is a mandatory .1 deduction. If both feet are out, like Bieger, the deduction is .3.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- The energy level seemed to drop for almost everybody.
UP: But not for Samantha Peszek who quietly continues to produce steady, error-free gymnastics. She turned in a solid balance beam routine, smiled at her score of 15.800 and watched the TV cameras follow Shawn Johnson who was more low-flying than usual on her floor routine. But Johnson posted a 16.100. That was the same mark earned by Nastia Liukin who was on balance beam. Liukin had another shaky landing but her routine is packed with difficulty.
DOWN: Chellsie Memmel took a step out of bounds on her floor exercise and scored a 15.300, down from her 15.600 on the final night of nationals.
Bridget Sloan, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery that caused her to withdraw from the vault competition, struggled to hold her balance three times on the balance beam and earned only a 14.850
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- This Olympic trials is also something of a test run for the younger girls who will be moving up to take the place of the veteran exodus that occurs after every Olympics.
Mattie Larson from Los Angeles, Chelsea Davis who is coached by former world champion Kim Zmeskal, and 16-year-old Mackenzie Caquatto of Naperville, Ill., are three girls singled out by Bela Karolyi as competitors who he expects to be mainstays on the way to 2012.
Caquatto had the tough assignment Friday of being first up on the balance beam. She made it through her nervewracking series of pirouettes and somersaults until the end. Caquatto stumbled off the mat on her dismount.
UP: Chellsie Memmel powered through her balance beam routine, solidly landing breathtaking skills like her standing Arabian somersault and making all her connections. When she finished her father and coach Andy gave the crowd a pump fist. Memmel scored 16.000. She's finished her toughest two events and scored 16 and over on both.
Shawn Johnson owned the balance beam. The beam was rattled by the power of Johnson's confident landings Her score of 16.250 Up immediately after Johnson was Alicia Sacramone who offered some sassy twists and wiggles to spice up her solid skills.
Ivana Hong nailed her landing on uneven bars and posted a 15.200. She has gradually raised her score over the two rounds of nationals and this first of two nights of Olympic trials. She got a 14.950 and then a 15.100 at nationals in Boston earlier this month.
DOWN: Only because she raised expectations by scoring over 17 twice at nationals, Nastia Liukin didn't keep her legs together on a handstand and lost her landing and came down on her knee on the landing. Even so she scored 16.700 though radio commentators Shannon Miller and Brett McClure both opined that Liukin was overscored.
Mattie Larson's legs were shaking during her balance beam routine and three times she needed to fight those nerves to stay upright. Her score dropped from a 14,800 on the last night of the national championships to a 14.400 tonight. Olympic selectors want to see improvement from everybody.
After two rounds Memmel was the overall leader with a score of 32.150 followed by Johnson at 31.950 and Liukin with 31.700. The top two all-around scorers will earn automatic Olympic team berths after Sunday's final round.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Mattie Larson during her balance beam routine. Credit: Rob Carr/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Leotard colors of the night -- Shawn Johnson, Samantha Peszek and Chellsie Memmel all chose a deep pink. Nastia Liukin stands out in white. Bridget Sloan and Ivana Hong chose purple. Mattie Larson wore red.
Unofficial winner of most pre-meet applause went to Liukin. Local girl Darling Hill was second. Memmel had a whole rooting section from her hometown of West Allis, Wis. They were wearing aqua T-shirts.
UP: Memmel closed her eyes and pumped her fist before she climbed up on the uneven bars. Her eyes were wide open at the end. Memmel confidently completed five release moves and made her landing. She scored 16.150. At nationals, Memmel received 16.000 and 16.300 and is showing consistency on an event where the U.S. doesn't have depth.
Larson from Los Angeles, in her first season of senior-level competition, "rocked those bars," according to former Olympic champion Shannon Miller, who is doing in-house radio commentary. Larson pointed every toe and swung strongly through her uneven bars routine. Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, gave Larson a big hug. Larson received a 15.100.
DOWN: Just a little down, but Johnson, starting on her weakest event, needed a big extra step on her uneven bars landing. Her score was still 15.700, and it took nitpicking in this first round to find much wrong with anything from the top competitors. Jana Bieger didn't cleanly land her one-and-a-half twist vault and scored only 14.600, behind Hong (14.800) and 15-year-old Chelsea Davis (14.700).
-- Diane Pucin
Photos, left to right: Ivana Hong by Rob Carr/Associated Press; Shayla Worley by Rob Carr/Associated Press; Chelsea Davis by Julie Jacobson/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- While it is Bela Karolyi's wife, Martha, who will have the final say on the six gymnasts who'll make up the U.S. Olympic team, former national coach Bela has some opinions.
An hour before the first night of Olympic trials, Karolyi said it was his opinion that Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Samantha Peszek, Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone will make the team and that the final spot was up for grabs between Bridget Sloan, Jana Bieger and Ivana Hong. Bela said that Bieger might have an advantage because she was the silver medalist in the 2006 world all-around championships and that he liked Sloan's vaulting and floor exercise and Hong's graceful lines.
Bela also said that at least 12 girls would be taken to a final team selection camp at the Karolyi ranch outside Houston. The final six-woman team, plus at least two alternates, will be named July 20.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Bela Karolyi was the popular kid in the lobby of the Philadelphia Marriott on Friday afternoon.
He offered opinions on who might make the men's team -- "I think they will have to take David Sender." And on the physical condition of Shayla Worley, a member of the U.S. gold medal 2007 world championship team who has been struggling with a back injury that kept her out of the national championships: "She's so-so," Karolyi said.
Sender, the newly minted U.S. national all-around champion, sprained his right ankle during practice Wednesday and missed Thursday's first round. He has submitted a petition to be considered for an Olympic team spot even if he can't compete in the final night of trials Saturday.
And indeed Worley pulled out of the floor exercise competition for the first round of the women's Olympic trials tonight. Also Bridget Sloan, an alternate on last year's team who is recovering from knee surgery, withdrew from the vault competition.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Bela Karolyi, a popular presence in Philadelphia during the Olympic trials, always says what he thinks. On Monday he rallied a crowd outside Philadelphia City Hall. Credit: Justin Maxon / Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Thursday night's performance sensation, Justin Spring, lunched anonymously at Reading Terminal Market on Friday afternoon. The market, filled with food stands offering sushi, Mexican, Middle Eastern, peel-n-eat shrimp, fresh soft pretzels from Amish bakers and cheese steaks of course, was filled with the high-pitched chatter of gymnastics fans.
Spring was doing some carbo-loading. He ate pasta in happy aloneness. Spring put himself front and center of the team selection process with energetic routines despite an assortment of knee, ankle and back injuries. "I'm feeling great," Spring said.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- A major sports event can often get swallowed up when it's held in a big city. For example, the two games played by the Kings and Ducks to open the NHL season in London last year caused hardly a ripple in the media or among local sports fans.
The Eagles were featured on at least one local sportscast Thursday night, but the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials have had some noticeable impact. Banners celebrating the event have been placed on local streets, and the Convention and Visitors' Bureau organized gymnastics demonstrations to give residents a peek at what they'll see on the gym floor.
The USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show is also being held this weekend, so there are a lot of folks with name tags and USA Gymnastics backpacks wandering around Center City. They've blended in with the bustling lunch-hour crowds at the Reading Terminal Market.
-- Helene Elliott
Photo: Philadelphia is flipping for the U.S. gymnastics trials. Earlier this week, Temple University men's gymnastics team member Jesse Kitzen-Abelson performed his parallel bars routine during a demonstration at City Hall. Credit : Matt Rourke / Associated Press
 PHILADELPHIA -- Late Thursday night Doug Johnson, father of all-around world champion gymnast Shawn Johnson, was pacing in front of a downtown hotel. He was wearing shorts, a Chow gymnastics T-shirt and flip-flops and his right arm was in a sling.
Johnson said he tore a bicep muscle last week when he was putting down a new floor at Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines, Iowa. It's the gym owned by Shawn's coach, Liang Chow, and the gym was damaged when the Raccoon River flooded. Johnson said he needs to have surgery on the arm next Thursday after he watches his daughter compete in the Olympic trials tonight and Sunday.
And he said he knows what everyone is thinking.
"Better me than Shawn," he said.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Gymnast Shawn Johnson with her parents Teri, left, and Doug in January at her gym in West Des Moines, Iowa. Credit: Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- The fourth rotation.
WHO'S UP: Justin Spring, who has one of the most dramatic high bar routines in the world, did what he didn't do at the nationals. He stayed on. Though he had a crooked handstand or two and a step out of the landing, Spring hung on and brought the crowd to its feet. He scored a 15.400.
And Morgan Hamm soared through his two-and-a-half twist vault so that even though he needed an extra step on the landing, Hamm still scored a 16.00.
WHO'S DOWN: Again, Yewki Tomita. If his hopes rested on pommel horse, the event where he was once national champion, Tomita struggled badly and fell. He put his head in his hands as he walked away from the horse. He didn't need to look at his score of 13.950.
David Durante had his second major mistake of the night with his tired pommel horse routine that included a fall. His head was also down when his score of 13.800 was flashed.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Rotation three.
WHO'S UP: Alexander Artemev stuck a second straight landing off the still rings, and he seems to be gaining the confidence that he was missing at a mistake-filled nationals. His score of 14.550 isn't the best in the world, but it showed an ability to avoid a major mistake that will help him make the U.S. team.
Justin Spring, who is considered an individual medalist contender on the parallel, did his jam-packed routine with only a couple of stutters and posted a 15.700 score. The crowd was appreciative. The 18,000-seat arena is almost two-thirds full.
WHO'S DOWN: Yewki Tomita, a long shot for the team, was unable to rise to a handstand, a relatively simple floor exercise skill, and he skidded off the mat on his dismount. His score of 12.700 was the lowest on any event by anybody so far tonight. The Olympic dream of the two-time U.S. pommel horse champion from Tucson seems unlikely.
-- Diane Pucin
Disadvantage to being within a double-twisting layout's distance from the parallel bars: chalk dust. Clouds of it. The black cloth covering the press table looks like it has a bad case of dandruff.
Great advantage to being here: There are many, but maybe the best is a closed-circuit radio broadcast on WGYM, with former gymnasts Steve McCain and Brett McClure doing the play by play. They know their stuff, and they make it enjoyable to the folks in the arena. Sorry, it's not available online... only in the arena.
--Helene Elliott
Photo: The chalk dust flies at gymnastics competitions. Credit: Mary Schwalm / Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- The men came out to, of course, the music from "Rocky," which has become Philly's theme song ever since Rocky Balboa ran up the steps of the art museum and became everyone's favorite underdog.
WHO'S UP: David Durante, the 2007 U.S. all-around champion who is from nearby Garwood, N.J., completed a powerful parallel bars routine with pointed toes and barely a shake in his strength moves and stuck a motionless landing. He gave an enthusiastic fist pump and raised one finger. His score of 15.500 brought another fist pump from Durante. That was the best score of the round.
WHO'S DOWN: Morgan Hamm, who won the floor exercise at nationals, fell to his knee on his final tumbling pass and limped off the mat. Hamm is still trying to round into top shape after having surgery on his pectoral muscle in January. Hamm had completed his signature "air flare" breakdancing move to big applause but his bad final landing earned him a low score of 14.750. At nationals, Hamm had scored 15.750 and 15.600 on the two nights.
-- Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA -- Thom Glielmi, coach of U.S. national all-around gymnastics champion David Sender, said Thursday that an injury petition has already been filed asking that the 22-year-old Stanford senior be considered for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Sender sprained his right ankle during practice Wednesday and withdrew from Thursday night's first round of the U.S. Olympic trials at the Wachovia Center. Glielmi said Sender, who is on crutches and underwent acupuncture and massage treatments Thursday, would try to compete in the finals Saturday.
The Olympic selection committee is using a mathematical formula where results from the nationals last month count for 40% and results from the Olympic trials count for 60%. The committee will use a points system to try and pick a team that includes two all-arounders plus event specialists that can help on each apparatus during the team competition in Beijing.
Glielmi said he and Sender understand that because defending Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm is also petitioning for a team spot after Hamm broke his hand at the nationals, that the committee may be reluctant to choose two injured athletes. "That's in the back of our minds," Glielmi said. "If there's any way David can go Saturday he will."
Glielmi said Sender's untimely sprain "definitely" hurts Sender's Olympic chances.
-- Diane Pucin
 PHILADELPHIA -- David Sender, 22, the Stanford gymnast who surprisingly walked away with the U.S. national all-around title in Houston last month, took a big fall on a high bar release move during practice Wednesday.
After trying to remount the still-vibrating bar, he dropped back to the ground and cried out, clearly in pain after turning his ankle.
He was soon wheeled out of the arena with his right ankle elevated and in a boot. The ankle had already begun to turn purple.
Sender's consistency at nationals paid off, and there is no question he found ways to capitalize on the fact that favorite and 2004 gold medalist Paul Hamm was out because of a broken hand.
But the Arlington Heights, Ill., native was not outstanding in enough in particular events to make him a strong contender for the final six-man Olympic roster. However, he planned to get an MRI even though team officials thought there was no break.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo of gymnast David Sender, as he is helped off the mat Wednesday, by Rob Carr / Associated Press
 PHILADELPHIA -- Alicia Sacramone, the women's 20-year-old captain and wise elder stateswoman, says she worries that the expected sellout crowd Sunday at the Wachovia Center might be expecting more than it will receive. Yes, the women's gymnastics finals will be held there that night, but many people also expect the women's team to be announced afterward. Not quite the case.
The top-two all-around finishers will be automatically chosen and can be cheered for. But the rest of the team probably won't be known until July 20. "Really, I don't think the crowd knows that," Sacramone said. "I think they may be slightly disappointed when they figure this out.
And Philadelphia isn't a place where disappointed fans take things quietly. "Yeah," Sacramone said, "I know about the booing. Uh oh."
Many of these U.S. gymnasts are used to receiving rude treatment though. They were booed mercilessly and had garbage thrown at them at the 2007 Pan-American Games in Brazil. The partisan Brazilian crowd was so carried away that the Brazilian gymnasts begged them to quiet down and then apologized to the American team that was led by Shawn Johnson and earned a team gold medal anyway.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo of Johnson and Liukin at the 2007 Pan American Games by Jason Parkhurst / US Presswire
 PHILADELPHIA -- Shayla Worley, who was on the 2007 U.S. world championship team, dropped out of the nationals in Boston two weeks ago because of a bad back.
But Worley's coach, Jeff Wood, said Wednesday that the young gymnast would participate in all four women's events when the Olympic trials get going on Friday: the uneven bars, floor exercise, vault and balance beam.
U.S. team coordinator Martha Karolyi will be closely watching Worley's uneven bars routine. The U.S. is weak on the event and Worley has a strong bars routine.
And let's not forget that Worley earned a spot on last year's national team because of her bar work and absence in an Olympic year does not make Karolyi's heart grow fonder.
If Worley's back holds up, the team could use her. She was part of last year's world champion gold medal team and finished second at last year's national championships.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo of Shayla Worley at the nationals in Boston by Stew Milne/ US Presswire
Gymnastics guru Bela Karolyi joined Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter this week to unveil the new street sign for Philadelphia's storied Broad Street. The "Road to Beijing" is only one indication of how much this city is behind the U.S. gymnastics trials. For a live web photo gallery from Philly, check out the USA Gymnastics page. The men's portion begins Thursday and the women's on Friday.
Karolyi, 66, is national training center director for USA Gymnastics and his credentials are unparalleled, having coached Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and Dominique Moceanu, among others. Martha Karolyi, his wife, is national team coordinator.
Read more about Bela, Martha and his Texas ranch, where the elite women gymnasts go to train. Los Angeles Times staff writer Diane Pucin, who is blogging from Philadelphia this week, stayed at the ranch for a few days, amid the camels and red deer. Yes, camels.
Photo of Bela on his ranch by Myung J. Chun / LA Times
PHILADELPHIA-- Mattie Larson said the occasion almost overwhelmed her. The 16-year-old newly minted senior-level gymnast had a couple of falls during her seventh-place overall finish at the national championships in Boston.
"Nerves," Larson said. "Now I know what it will be like."
Larson, who trains at All-Olympia Gymnastics Center in Los Angeles, said she was looking forward to the predicted sellout crowds at the Wachovia Center Friday and Sunday. She said she was particularly trying to avoid mistakes on her balance beam and uneven bars routines, two events she said U.S. team coordinator Martha Karolyi told Larson she needed for consistency if she hoped to sneak onto the Olympic team.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo of Mattie Larson vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team by Annie Wells / LA Times
Jana Bieger is a most anonymous world all-around silver medalist, a title she won in 2006. Bieger was left home when last year's world championships were held in Stuttgart, Germany. Bieger's mother and coach Andrea, was German-born and the snub left Bieger feeling downcast. The team won a gold medal and Bieger continued recovering from injuries that had made her 2007 season full of fits and starts.
On Wednesday the 18-year-old from Coconut Creek, Fla., sat on a high-backed chair in a room full of her American teammates. Media was three-deep around Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, Ivana Hong and Mattie Larson, Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan.
Bieger sat alone. Her smile slowly faded. "Yes," she said, "I guess I need to open people's eyes about me again," she said. Bieger was fifth at the national championships but she had not big, big scores or standout performances.
"Two years ago I was the world silver medalist and that shows I can do the gymnastics," Bieger said. "But the coaches always say that what you did two years ago doesn't matter a bit. I guess that's true."
photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein Bongarts/Getty Images
The U.S. gymnastics Olympics trials get underway in Philadelphia on Thursday and there is no rain in the forecast. And that's just fine for America's best female gymnast, Shawn Johnson.
Johnson was forced out of her regular gym in West Des Moines, Iowa, by flooding that left a foot of water inside Chow's Gymnastics. In a sport in which the athlete relies on knowing where the dead spots are on the floor, where every millimeter of give comes on the balance beam and just how bouncy the uneven bars are, heading for high ground and a different training arena at Iowa State for two days was not the best way for Johnson to prepare for the trials.
More than 100 volunteers helped bail out Chow's and Johnson was able to get in a day of training before flying to Philly on Monday.
Johnson arrived in a city that is taking this trials stuff seriously. Philadelphia's main downtown thoroughfare, Broad Street, has been renamed "Road to Beijing." There's also a little Liberty Bell above Road to Beijing on the new street signs. But here's a warning: Your rental car NeverLost system remains programmed to say "Right turn on Broad Street in 2.5 miles." So don't listen to it.
The Road to Beijing doesn't exactly start or stop in Philadelphia for the gymnasts either. At most, four gymnasts -- two men and two women -- can automatically qualify based on their results this week. The rest of the teams will be selected by committees that will reconvene after the trials at other training centers to further test and evaluate before the six-member teams are named (by July 1 for the men and by July 20 for the women).
A block off the Road to Beijing in South Philly, between downtown and the Wachovia Center, where the trials will take place, is Passyunk Avenue. That is where Philly cheesesteak sandwich rivals Pat's and Geno's tempt passersby with the smell of grilling steak and onions. But don't look for gymnasts there. One cheesesteak and that double-twisting Yurchenko layout dismount could become a single twist with a thud.
-- Diane Pucin
Photo: Matt Rourke / Associated Press
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