Men’s gymnastics needs a media “superstar”.
We really haven’t had one since Sexy Alexei Nemov.
Paul Hamm is popular in the USA, but he’s no Nemov.
The best candidate on the horizon, I think, is Germany’s Fabian Hambuechen. Everybody loves this guy. And he is GOOD.
source?
One cute story:
Fabian Hambuechen was celebrating his high bar title with an adoring fan club that only sounded as if it included all of Germany when he spotted an unhappy Alicia Sacramone.
The term “bad mood” simply doesn’t exist in this gymnast’s vocabulary – in English or his native German – so he walked over to the American and put his arm around her, determined to make her smile.
“I was upset after (finishing second on) floor exercise. He was like, `Come on, baby, walk with me,”’ Sacramone said, laughing at the memory. “He’s all about having fun.”
And with the run he’s on, Hambuechen is having a blast.
“I love it,” he said recently. “I just try to take the good things out of it, take the good motivation.”
Just 20, Hambuechen will be a multi-medal threat at the Beijing Olympics. …
NBC Olympics – Olympics could give world `Fabi Fever’
Analyst John Roethlisberger at the USA VISA Championships said that Paul Hamm is now ahead of Fabian in the All-Around, with a higher start score particularly on rings.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 