According to NBC, the lineup of the men’s team looks like this: All-around (competing on all six events): Jonathan Horton, Alexander Artemev (Note that the latter went from alternate to all-arounder in 24 hours!) The following athletes in alphabetical order: Still rings: Artemev, Bhavsar, Horton, Spring, Tan Vault: Artemev, Bhavsar, Hagerty, Horton, Spring Parallel bars: […] [...more]
If you have some time, the full press conference, including both coaches, Morgan Hamm, and the rest of the U.S. Olympic men gymnasts, shows a team with genuine intelligence, depth, and serious commitment. It’s worth a watch. Morgan Hamm’s Press Conference [...more]
Paul and Morgan Hamm finally finished college and got their degrees a couple of years ago. They put up an optimistic website titled makingtheolympics.com, chalked up, and got back down to business. Gymnastic business. They videoed their training and shared a part of their lives with their web-viewers. There were some major ups and sensational, free-falling downs. At the end of the roller coaster ride, not only had they both made the team, but Paul's final competition against all his peers, many of whom had been fully training for years, had him a couple of points above the rest. Mere seconds before that final all-around win, [...more]
It seems O’Neill has some kind of ankle ligament damage, and could not take part in today’s team practice. Canada has until one hour before Saturday’s team competition to decide if he will be able to compete, or if he will be replaced with alternate Ken Ikeda. [...more]
It doesn't get much worse than this. Morgan Hamm has joined his twin brother, Paul, on the sidelines. Due to a nagging ankle injury, Morgan decided the best thing to do for the team was to withdraw. Something at Tuesday night's workout looked amiss, as Hamm took an abbreviated turn on the floor, [...more]
The entire American delegation of athletes to Beijing attended a required seminar of both proper international behavior and important Chinese customs. No doubt the U.S. Olympic Committee was wishing to avoid the Bode Miller rude party scene as occurred at the 2006 Winter Games in Italy, or Amy Van Dyken’s spitting in her competitor’s swimming […] [...more]
There are stages one goes through in grief and disappointment. No doubt Paul Hamm went through the shock, the sadness, and the anger as he gave up his Olympic slot. From the sound of the text messaging going on between him and his brother Morgan, Paul has reached the stage of acceptance, and now wishes […] [...more]
The U.S. Men's Team took part in a training session at Beijing's National Indoor Stadium. The session, in what's otherwise called "podium training," did not glorify Team USA. Then again, Coach Kevin Mazeika had stressed to the team that it was just another workout. [...more]
The Albuquerque Journal had a nice article about Joey Hagerty yesterday. Hagerty is the epitome of a success story. Hagerty, who looks like the typical nice guy next door, is arguably the hardest working man in gymnastics. Ever since sitting in the stands as a young teen at the 1996 Atlanta Games, [...more]
You can feel the excitement crackling across the ocean as Miles Avery sends back news of what the men's team is doing. He's having a new silk suit made; he's seen the competition gym and been very impressed. [...more]
