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Men's Gymnastics
Spring Helps USA to Bronze Medal
Aug. 12, 2008
U.S. Men's Gymnastics Press Conference BEIJING (AP) -- China has the Olympic title it has long craved and everyone else expected. The Americans, meanwhile, won the bronze with a roster patched together at the last minute when not one, but both Hamm brothers were knocked out with injuries. The Chinese began celebrating even before their last event, high bar, was finished. When little Zou Kai's feet hit the mat with a thud, his teammates jumped up and down. They stood behind a large Chinese flag, tears flowing. There were no tears from the Americans, only elation. When the final standings popped up, Jonathan Horton screamed: "Nobody believed in us! Nobody believed in us." China finished with 286.125 points, more than seven points ahead of Japan. That's such a blowout the Chinese could have brought three fans in for the last event and still won. The Americans had 275.850. Silver medalists four years ago, the Americans completed their own journey of redemption. With no members of the 2004 team around, the young U.S. men were a dismal 13th at the 2006 world championships, a stunning fall. But they grew up quickly, finishing fourth at last year's worlds. With reigning Olympic champ Paul Hamm and his twin brother, Morgan, back, they were sure to contend for a medal in Beijing. But Paul Hamm broke his hand in May and couldn't recover in time, withdrawing from the U.S. team July 28. Last Thursday, an ankle injury knocked out Morgan Hamm. With no Olympic veterans, nobody expected much from the Americans. Nobody, that is, except themselves. "We always believed in ourselves, and we kept at it. ... Tenacious," U.S. coach Kevin Mazeika said. "And we believed that our day would come." They are a scrappy bunch, and they gutted out one impressive routine after another Tuesday. Horton threw himself so far into the air on his high bar release moves the folks in the lower rows had to look up to see him, and he caught the bar on the way down each time as easily as if he were grabbing a drink. When he stuck his dismount, Raj Bhavsar jumped up and down. The rest of the Americans hooted and hollered, and Horton practically sprinted off the podium. Justin Spring was just as good, showing the circus types a thing or two with his flips and twists. He does a triple somersault for his dismount, and he got such great air, he landed halfway down the podium. "They're high-risk, high-rewards," Mazeika said, "and our guys knocked it out of the park. It was just amazing." Those routines put them solidly in second, behind the Chinese, with two events to go. But they had uncharacteristic struggles on floor, with Joey Hagerty stepping out of bounds twice. They slipped behind the Japanese going to pommel horse, their last event - and their weakest. They didn't start well, with Kevin Tan sitting on the horse at one point. After a serviceable routine by Bhavsar, it all came down to Sasha Artemev, who was tapped Thursday night to replace Morgan Hamm. Artemev has perhaps the most talent of any of the Americans, and he's far and away their best on pommel horse, where he won a bonze medal at the 2006 world championships.
Consistency, though, has been an issue, costing him a spot on the original Olympic team. He paced back and forth on the podium as he waited for what seemed like hours for Bhavsar's score, the pressure building with every second. But Artemev came through like a pro, his legs whirling like a propeller as he scissor-kicked around the pommels, his body straight and his toes perfectly pointed. The Americans were celebrating as soon as his feet hit the mat. The bronze medal was theirs. Spring was spectacular all night in leading the Americans to the improbable bronze. The 2006 Illinois graduate and current assistant coach scored 15.900 on vault in the second rotation, a team-leading 15.850 on parellel bars, a spectacular 15.675 on horizontal bar and 15.200 on floor exercise in the three-up, three-count format. |
