It was a thrilling night in San Jose the final day of Men’s Competition. The guys were far, far more consistent than Day 1.
We were very happy to see Durante finally have a breakthrough meet exactly at the right time — when the USA needs a strong leader going into World Championships.
He kept smiling.
As David Durante stepped off the mat after each of six routines Friday night at the Visa Championships, he grinned, pumped his fist or breathed easily. …
Nine months after finishing a disastrous 13th in the world, Durante and his peers made a statement at the U.S. championships at HP Pavilion by putting together the kind of performances they always knew they could.
“I had a sense this week, if I didn’t do it now, I never will,” said Durante, 27.
Fueled with newfound confidence, he backed it up, hitting all 12 of his routines over two days to win his first U.S. senior all-around title.
On an impressive night for the Cardinal, Stanford seniors Sho Nakamori and David Sender were third and fifth, respectively, in the all-around, making strong cases to be selected to the world championship team that competes next month in Stuttgart, Germany.
“We showed we have a lot of depth,” Nakamori said. “It doesn’t matter who makes it.”
It was just the kind of meet Ron Brant, national team coordinator, had hoped to witness from a talented but inexperienced group being asked to carry the Olympic torch.
The Americans must finish in the top 12 at the world championships Sept. 1-9 to qualify as a team for next year’s Beijing Games.“We’ve got the people; we’ve just got to do the finishing touches,” Brant said Friday. “We’re close, very close.”
Durante, who resides at the U.S. Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., is even more optimistic. When asked if he had any doubts whether the Americans would qualify for the Summer Olympics, he said, “Zero.” …
Paul and Morgan Hamm competed only 3 routines between them and looked stronger. But no one is counting on them to carry the American Team to Beijing.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 