Bross' status for worlds unknown after knee injury
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Rebecca Bross' prospects for the world gymnastics championships are uncertain after she dislocated her right kneecap on her vault landing.
Bross, last year's U.S. champion, was still twisting when she hit the landing mat with full force, jamming her knee. She dropped to the mat with a scream of pain, and immediately grabbed for her knee. Coach Valeri Liukin jumped up on the podium and called for trainers while Bross covered her face with her hands.
Other competitors watched with looks of concern on their faces.
"It was definitely hard to see her injured," said Jordyn Wieber, who once trained with Bross. "It's heartbreaking."
Bross' leg was wrapped in an air cast, and she was taken off the arena floor in a wheelchair. It had already been a rough week for Bross, who was competing for the first time since having ankle surgery in November. She fell on her first two events Thursday, but had looked better Saturday night until getting hurt.
Bross' injury could have big implications for the U.S. The reigning world bronze medalist, she is expected to be a key member of the U.S. team at this year's world championships, the main qualifier for next summer's London Olympics. Worlds are Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo.
And Bross' wasn't the only injury. Beijing Olympian Chellsie Memmel was in the running for the top three in the all-around when she dislocated her right shoulder on uneven bars, her last event. That's the same shoulder she blew out at the 2006 world championships, costing her most of the next two years, but Memmel said the shoulder only slipped out a "teeny bit" this time.
"It'll be sore for a couple of days, but it'll be fine," she said.
Memmel wound up eighth in the all-around.
---
SHABBY CHIC: Alicia Sacramone has been around long enough to know what she does at the world championships is far more important than her results at nationals.
The captain of the 2008 Olympic team won the balance beam title Saturday night, but finished second on vault and tied for eighth on floor exercise.
"It was a little shabby, but overall I was pleased," Sacramone said. "A couple more weeks of workouts and routines, and everything will come together for worlds."
Worlds are Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo and serve as the main qualifier for next summer's London Olympics. In addition to the 23-year-old's leadership skills, national team coordinator Martha Karolyi will be counting on Sacramone to put up big numbers on vault, where she's the reigning world champion, and floor, where she's a former world champ.
But this was only the second time she'd done floor since Beijing, and some rustiness was to be expected.
"There's room for improvement but that's OK," Sacramone said. "Worlds is where I want to peak."
---
JUNIOR CHAMP: Katelyn Ohashi's going to need to make some room in her suitcase.
After collecting enough bling to make a jeweler jealous, the new junior champ planned to celebrate her dominant performance at the U.S. gymnastics championships with a trip to the Mall of America.
"Hopefully buy a couple of outfits," she said. "I want to ride the roller coasters, too."
It will be one of the few times all week she's been shaky.
Ohashi, coached by Valeri Liukin, won the all-around title by 3.3 points Saturday, and also claimed gold medals on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
Just 4-foot-6, Ohashi looks like a hummingbird on uneven bars, flitting back and forth with such ease it's easy to overlook how difficult her tricks are. She has one of the toughest balance beam routines of any gymnast in the world -- junior or senior -- and lands her skills with poise and assuredness.
And despite being only 14, she already knows how to captivate the audience and judges when she's on the floor, landing her tumbling passes in time to her music to give it more punch or highlighting particular notes with expressive arm movements. With plans for a couple of new vaults, she might make a clean sweep of the gold medals in a year or two.
Ohashi's only flaw Saturday was a fall on balance beam, and it came on a sheep jump, one of the easiest skills she does.
"She's got a lot in her pocket," Liukin said. "For Katelyn, the sky's the limit. I'm really not exaggerating when I say there's no limits for Katelyn's gymnastics."
Her only limit is her age. Ohashi just turned 14 in April, making her too young to compete at the London Olympics. Gymnasts have to be 16 the year of the games to be eligible.
It's a familiar predicament for Liukin, whose daughter Nastia was too young for the Athens Olympics. Nastia Liukin stuck around for Beijing, where she won five medals, including the all-around gold. Valeri Liukin also coaches defending U.S. champ Rebecca Bross, who would have been in contention for the Beijing squad had she been old enough.
"She's the lucky one," Liukin said of Ohashi. "Nastia was the first one and we had to learn how to pace. It's all waiting and being careful. But I think we've gotten it by now."
And waiting for the Rio Games in 2016 means she has that much more time to get better, Ohashi said.
Of course, she's pretty good already.
"It just means the world to me, knowing I finally did it," she said of her title. "It makes me happy."
---
WORLD TEAM: Danell Leyva's first U.S. title earned him another trip to the world gymnastics championships.
As expected, Leyva was named to the world team Saturday along with runner-up Jonathan Horton, who had qualified automatically Friday night after finishing in the top three in three events. Joining them are John Orozco, who finished third after winning the junior title in 2007, 2008 and 2009; Jake Dalton, who was fifth in the all-around and won the floor and vault titles; Steve Legendre, sixth overall; and Alexander Naddour, a pommel horse specialist.
It is the first world team for Orozco and Naddour.
Chris Brooks, who finished fourth in the all-around, was named alternate. Despite finishing behind Brooks, Dalton and Legendre were likely helped by their international reputations. Dalton won the bronze medal at American Cup despite finding out he was competing only about an hour before the event, while Legendre has made the floor final at the last two world championships, finishing eighth each time.
The world championships are Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo and serve as the main qualifier for next summer's London Olympics.
Sho Nakamori, who finished third at nationals in 2007, made the squad for the Pan American team two years after blowing out his knee. Also named to the squad were Donothan Bailey, Glen Ishino, C.J. Maestas, Paul Ruggeri and Brandon Wynn. Tyler Mizoguchi will be the alternate.
The Pan Am Games are Oct. 24-29 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
---
SHE'S GOT RHYTHM: Shelby Kisiel rallied to win her first title in rhythmic gymnastics Saturday.
Kisiel won the ball and club titles on Friday, but went into the all-around finals trailing Polina Kozitskiy by .250 points. Kisiel made up the deficit -- and then some, finishing almost eight points ahead of Kozitskiy. Kisiel finished with 203.175 points while Kozitskiy had 195.750. Alexis Page was third at 194.825.
"Today was a major improvement from yesterday," said Kisiel, who was second last year. "I let a lot of my nerves go and was able to focus more on what I had been practicing on. I am extremely happy with how it turned out and I am happy to be where I am."
In the junior division, Rebecca Sereda won her third straight title. She finished with 198.10 points, while Jazzy Kerber was second with 194.850 points.
"I was a little shaky in the beginning, but toward the end of the competition, I knew I had to pull together all my energy to perform well in my last two routines. I am really pleased with the results," said Sereda, who also won the titles in ball and clubs.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
RECENT ACTIVITY
-
TOOLS
- Contact Us
- Corrections
- Daily Line
- RSS