Morgan Hamm makes 3rd Olympic team

[June 23, 2008]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Morgan Hamm will be joining his brother at the Olympics.

Morgan Hamm was selected for the U.S. men's gymnastics team for the Beijing Games on Sunday, along with Kevin Tan, Joseph Hagerty and Justin Spring. Paul Hamm, the reigning Olympic champion and Morgan's twin, and Jonathan Horton were chosen Saturday after the conclusion of the Olympic trials.

"It was just a huge weight off my shoulders, relief," said Morgan Hamm, who tore a muscle in his chest eight months ago. "I feel like I've had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get here. ... It just makes it that much more sweet."

The news wasn't quite as good for Sasha Artemev, David Durante and Raj Bhavsar, who were named the alternates.

"It was a very difficult decision," said Ron Brant, the national team coordinator. "We were trying to come up with the team with the highest consistency we could find."

And win the United States some medals.

Though China is the overwhelming favorite, the Americans are sure to be medal contenders. They were fourth at the world championships last year, three missed routines away from a medal, and the return of the Hamms makes them even stronger. Paul Hamm is recovering from a broken hand, but he is ahead of schedule in his recovery and should be healthy in time for Beijing.

All of the athletes have to show they're physically ready during a July 13-22 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Our goal is to go to Beijing and do our very best to win. That's the way this team has been constructed," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "We're looking forward to giving every other country in the world a run for their money."

The selection committee took the scores from four days of competitions -- two days at the national championships and two days of Olympic trials -- and used a computer to come up with the team that could put up the highest scores in team finals, when three gymnasts compete on each event and all three scores count.

The computer spit out 40 different scenarios, Brant said, and the committee looked at another nine. The weighted scores, with more importance placed on the results from trials, were particularly key, as was consistency.

"We want a team that can go hit routines," Brant said. "If you're strong under the most pressure, that's what we were looking for. ... Some people rose to the occasion, some people didn't."

Sunday's announcement caps a roller-coaster comeback for Morgan Hamm. Like his brother, he took 2 1/2 years off after helping the Americans win the silver medal in Athens, an unheard of layoff in elite gymnastics. Then, in October, he tore a pectoral muscle, an injury that required five months of rehab and kept him out of competition until last month's nationals. 

His leadership will be invaluable to the team, with he and his brother the only returning Olympians on the U.S. squad. He's also a model of consistency, the only member of the 2004 squad who didn't make a mistake during the team competition. He will contend for an individual medal on floor and can be counted on for strong scores on high bar and pommel horse, the Americans' biggest weakness.

But Hamm wasn't spectacular at trials after injuring his ankle the first day of competition, and he knew he was on the bubble when the committee was making its decision.

"I was worried they might put him in an alternate position or just name a training squad," Paul Hamm said.

Instead, after Hagerty's name was announced, Morgan Hamm heard his name called.

"I was so relieved. Just WHEW! A weight off my shoulders," Morgan Hamm said. "Now it's up to (Paul). He's got more to prove still."

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Artemev only being an alternate, and the announcement left him stunned.

"I didn't practice my whole life to be an alternate, so I'm not pleased," he said. "There's a lot of uncertainty right now whether to continue (to 2012) or not. I fully support the team. I accept their decision and I definitely stand behind the team. After the Olympics, we'll see what the future brings."

Artemev has perhaps the most pure talent of anyone and is among the world's best on pommel horse, winning a bronze medal on the event at the 2006 world championships. But he is maddeningly inconsistent. He knows the U.S. team counts on him for a high pommel horse score, yet he had only one clean routine in four days at nationals and trials. He also fell off high bar Saturday, and botched his vault. Still, many felt the Americans couldn't afford to lose his pommel horse score.

Even with three falls, Artemev had the highest score in the trials process.

"We don't really give up as much as you might think we do," Brant said. "Everyone's assuming everybody's hitting. Is that really realistic? Probably not. That's Disneyland."

[Associated Press; By NANCY ARMOUR]

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