THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Shawn Johnson is ready for her closeup ...
The next American darling of women's gymnastics will compete on all four apparatus in the team finals Wednesday morning (Tuesday night in prime time in the U.S.).
The top eight teams from the qualifications on Sunday compete, although the scores do not carry over. The U.S. team trailed the host Chinese by 1.475 points.
Here is the lineup for the Americans:
Vault: Bridget Sloan, Shawn Johnson, Alicia Sacramone
Uneven bars: Chellsie Memmel, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin
Balance beam: Alicia Sacramone, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson
Floor exercise: Alicia Sacramone, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson
The women's all-around final comes Thursday night in the states (Friday morning in Beijing).
Yesterday, gymnast Morgan Hamm was eager to learn that his twin brother, Paul, was thinking of joining him in Beijing to provide support.
Now, neither of them will be competing in the Olympics. Morgan Hamm withdrew with a left ankle injury, USA Gymnastics announced in a statement released at 5 a.m. Eastern time. Talented but error-prone all-around contender Sasha Artemev was chosen to replace Morgan Hamm on the roster instead of David Durante.
“I have been dealing with this for the last year, and it recently has gotten worse here in Beijing,” said Hamm, a two-time Olympian. “Right now I am unable to perform my tumbling skills at the level that I need to. This has an impact on my ability to contribute to the team’s goals and I believe by continuing I would be putting myself at further risk. There are two very capable athletes who can step in and help this team more than I can right now.”
The defending all-around gold medalist, Paul Hamm, withdrew from the team July 28 due to complications from a broken right hand and a strained left shoulder. That left Morgan as the sole veteran on a team left hoping for perfection to challenge for more than bronze.
“Morgan’s dedication to helping the USA claim a team medal for the second straight Olympics has been exemplary,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “He has done every thing he could to contribute to this team, and we appreciate his efforts. We also appreciate his putting the team’s best interests first. He has once again demonstrated why he is a champion.”
MARCUS HAYES grew up on a small farm outside of Hermon, NY., a small town near the Canadian border about the size of Reading Terminal Market. In high school he played three varsity sports and aspired to be faster, or more skilled, or taller. Having failed in those aspirations and seeking a warmer climate, Marcus attended Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and eventually graduated with a degree in Magazine Writing. He also earned a degree in English from the College of Arts and Sciences. To date he has written for no magazines. His English is spotty at best. Upon graduation in 1990, with Jim Boeheim's talent-leaden SU basketball teams having won no titles, Marcus spent 4½ years working for the now-absorbed Syracuse Herald-Journal covering high school sports, local small college sports and non-revenue sports at SU. Marcus joined the Daily News as a feature story writer in 1995. Among other assignments he has covered the Eagles and Phillies beats for most of his tenure. Still, the paper soldiers on. This will be his first Olympics assignment for the Daily News.
