The men’s U.S. World team is Jake Dalton, Sam Mikulak, Danell Leyva, Alex Naddour, Brandon Wynn & Steven Legendre. Congrats, guys! Alternates: John Orozco, Eddie Penev, Paul Ruggeri.
Note that they’ve named six. That means Marta will name six. I assumed wrong. It’s 4 women, 6 men maximum / nation for Worlds 2013.
All pundits agree that Sam Mikulak should focus on the AA. He has a good chance at a medal.
Does a 2nd American have a chance in the AA?
It’s possible. Not many named Leyva and Marcel Nguyen as medal winners for London. Any of the guys who can score 60+ on a good day MIGHT find themselves on the podium below Uchimura. Dalton should train the AA.
Leyva is not looking good right now. I hope he cuts back to training only 2-3 apparatus for Antwerp. He has a shot on P Bars & H Bar. Two Americans might qualify for the H Bar Final. UPDATE – Leyva withdrew to heal his injuries, get back on track for Rio.
On his best day I don’t think Naddour can qualify to the Pommel Final. That competition is going to be stacked with super experienced Pommel specialists.
Rings? Wynn or even Naddour might squeak into the Final. No Low chance for a medal.
Orozco’s not been training long enough since the ACL surgery to be his best for the AA. Like Leyva, he could focus on just his best Finals chances. I’d be quick to call John in if any of the named Team is struggling.
That leaves Floor and Vault. Honestly, it’s Legendre who has the difficulty to have a chance. And he’s looking very good right now. Unfortunately Steve has never rarely been able to land all that difficulty. Don’t bet the mortgage that he’ll stick in Belgium.
Dalton looked even better than Ruggeri on Floor today. Either could qualify for the Floor final. They are two of the most Artistic FX guys in the world.
Click PLAY or watch Jake on YouTube.
Some of the team will try to upgrade difficulty IF they qualify to a Final. It’s never easy to win a medal at Worlds in Men’s Gymnastics.
Unlike the American women’s scores, I’m not sure the USA Men are going to score as high in Antwerp as they did in Hartford for the same routines. There’s a small stick bonus in the USA too.
As usual, the Men’s World Championships will be much less predictable than WAG.
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