Lets say YOU want to go to the Olympics. How do you get there?
First, you must qualify to the Olympic Trial in Philadelphia. Only 14 men were selected, out of over 40, based on performance at VISA Championships this past weekend.
Ten were chosen based on a point system:
(in rank order): New national champ David Sender, Jonathan Horton, Kevin Tan, Joey Hagerty, Paul Hamm, Morgan Hamm, David Durante, Sasha Artemev, Raj Bhavsar and Sean Golden.
Wisely, Men’s Program Committee (MPC) could add 4 more gymnasts based on potential to make the Olympic Team.
Justin Spring, Tim McNeill, Guillermo Alvarez and Yewki Tomita
Finally, any injured athlete could petition to the Olympic Trial. Confirmed was Sean Townsend who has strong Horizontal Bar, an apparatus weak in the USA and the world right now.
Defending Olympic Champion Paul Hamm was injured at the VISA Championships and expects to miss the Olympic Trial. He’ll petition to the next stage. Personally I hope Paul does some apparatus in Philadelphia. That his broken hand heals quickly.
Any of the gymnasts competing All-around at the Olympic trial can guarantee themselves a spot in Beijing. They simply must finish in the top two (40% USAs + 60% Trials) and also finish in the top three on at least three events. That’s a big ask. Only Horton has much of a chance to do so.
In the end, the Olympic Selection Committee will finalize who is on the team:
Because Tomita made Trials, his father, Yoichi, will not be a part of the committee. Instead, MPC member Stacy Maloney will join National Team Coordinator Ron Brant, Men’s Program Senior Director Dennis McIntyre, Coaches’ Representative Bill Foster and Athlete Representative Jay Thornton …
This is a huge and important responsibility. But people are confident this super experienced panel will do everything they can to pick the best team out of many possible combinations of athletes.
Interestingly, the personal coaches are not necessarily consulted.
Related post: 14 American gymnasts to Olympic Trials
Gymnastics Coaching.com 