Day 1 in Houston, 40+ seniors are on the podium preparing for tomorrow’s preliminaries.
The BIG story of the in-gym press conference is Paul and Morgen Hamm trying out for their 3rd Olympics. Morgan is healthy and ready to compete 4 events — but has not had enough time to do as many routines as he would have liked. Morgan did say that if he hit 4 for 4, he was confident of advancing to Olympic Trials in Philadelphia.
Paul Hamm
Paul was very modest, I thought, and gave a great interview. He spoke much about the family decision in December 2006 for the brothers to make a comeback for Beijing.
Morgan has decided to attend Chiropractic College next year in Chicago. Paul is still weighing his options — but will permanently retire from gymnastics after Beijing.
Jonathan Horton
Horton, 4th at Worlds in 2007, is a strong candidate for the team. He’s well known internationally now and could contribute some big scores. He’s not changing his routines from NCAA championships as goal #1 is consistency.
Justin Spring with past Olympian Steve McCain of Gymnast.com
This year’s Visa Championships mark Spring’s first major competition since tearing his ACL at last year’s Visa Championships in August.
Justin confirmed that he is healthy and will compete 5 events at VISA Championships. He will do the All-around at Olympic Trials should he get through.
No gymnast, not even Paul Hamm, gets an automatic ticket to Trials. Everyone must earn it here in Houston.
Blaine Wilson
Blaine would be 34-years-old if he qualifies to the Olympics. He is the only athlete on the floor who competed FIG “Compulsory” routines long, long ago. Age is weighing heavy on Blaine, but he’s one of the most aggressive gymnasts in history.
One of the gymnasts I’ll be watching most closely.
Without the Women’s National Team here (they compete in Boston, instead) the Men are the headliners. It’s a nice change. And the number of potential team members on the Men’s side is far greater than on the Women’s.
Related post: 2008 Visa Gymnastics Championships Men
Gymnastics Coaching.com 