| | Associated Press
BOSTON -- Dinners at the Hamm household won't be quite as
tense anymore. Paul and Morgan Hamm are going to the Olympics.
|  | | Sean Townsend showed promise as a junior champion three years ago, but his third-place finish Saturday in Boston has him Olympics-bound. |
The 17-year-old twin brothers from Wisconsin parlayed their
steady upward climb into a stunning surprise Saturday in the
Olympic trials, becoming the first twins to make the U.S. Olympic
gymnastics team.
"It's a mindboggling feeling," their mother, Cecily Hamm, said
after seeing 10 years of work reach a conclusion beyond what anyone
could have imagined even 12 months ago.
"The last few weeks have been so long. It seemed like too much
to hope for."
There might have only been one person more emotional than Cecily
when the six-person team was announced. That was 30-year-old John
Roethlisberger, who wept openly when he heard his name called -- his
performance good enough to overcome numerous earlier blunders and
send him to a third Olympics.
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U.S. Olympic Team
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Blaine Wilson, Columbus, Ohio
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Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis.
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Sean Townsend, Houston
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Stephen McCain, Houston
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Morgan Hamm, Waukesha, Wis.
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John Roethlisberger, Falcon Heights, Minn.
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alternate-Jamie Natalie, Wilmington, Del.
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Also heading to Sydney are five-time defending national champion
Blaine Wilson, 1997 junior national champion Sean Townsend and 1996
hard-luck gymnast Stephen McCain.
Going as an alternate is Jamie Natalie, the NCAA champion who
finished fifth in the overall scoring but couldn't match
Roethlisberger for experience or Morgan Hamm for versatility.
Wilson, Paul Hamm, Townsend and McCain finished first through
fourth in the two-day competition, where scores were combined with
those in U.S. nationals to determine four automatic slots.
The final two spots were chosen by the men's selection
committee, headed by coach Peter Kormann.
Wilson was his usual self, winning the meet with a clinching
rings performance worth 9.95 points. He celebrated with his first
fist pump of the day, a hug for coach Ron Brant and a salute to the
crowd, full of young girls with his name painted on their arms,
faces and backs.
"I'm excited, but I'm exhausted," Wilson said. "I'm very
confident with the team we have right now. We're way better now
than we were in 1996."
The United States finished fifth in Atlanta and Kormann feels a
medal is within reach this time.
The committee gave a spot to Roethlisberger, despite his
seventh-place finish. He will become the sixth American male
gymnast to compete in three Olympics. The final spot went to
sixth-place finisher Morgan Hamm for his excellence on the floor
and vault.
Natalie reacted well, even though he got left out.
"They could just pick the top six guys, but that might not be
the best team," Natalie said. "You have to put the best team on
the floor. I can see where they're coming from. Morgan is
absolutely great on floor and vault. And John is great on the other
four events. It's a no-brainer."
Whether intentionally or not, the committee gave men's
gymnastics huge potential for a surge in popularity. After years in
the shadows of the women's program, the men have a pair of
all-American, freckle-faced teen-agers who look like a Wheaties box
waiting to happen.
"We were looking to put the best team out on the floor," USA
Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi told reporters. "What you guys
decide to do with it is your choice."
Indeed, it's big, powerful routines, not good looks, that have
brought the Hamms to the forefront in a shorter time than most
people expected.
Coach Stacy Maloney dreamt up the Olympic timeline about 10
years ago when he was lured away from a successful singing career
to coach the twins. A year ago, he figured Paul had a good chance,
but it was a long shot for both to make it.
"I'd have to say it's a stunner," Maloney said. "Morgan was
going to have to hurry to make it. He had the best meet of his life
today."
With Natalie nailing routines, there was little margin for error
for Morgan Hamm. But he answered every challenge and may have
sealed his spot on the vault in the fifth of the six rotations.
Sprinting down the runway, he exploded off the springboard, then
did a handspring off the vault and somersaulted with a 1½ twist to
a landing. He committed a small bobble there, but slapped hands
with Maloney, knowing he was one step closer to Sydney.
Afterward came a tense 30 minutes in a blue-carpeted waiting
room. A march to center stage followed. Only when the
public-address announcer started reading names did the twins know
they would be together in Sydney.
"It's big because it keeps us together," Morgan Hamm said.
"If he made it and I didn't, he would go on tour after the
Olympics and I would go back to school. That would have been
difficult."
But now they don't have to worry about it. Instead, the rest of
the world can worry about them -- a pair of up-and-coming gymnasts
who represent the future of the sport with a brand of athleticism
insiders call Wow Gymnastics.
"It has the potential to be kind of intimidating for other
people," Maloney said. "They've both gotten so good so quickly.
It could be kind of scary for some other guys."
While the Hamms celebrated, Roethlisberger's day was a study in
relief.
For the first time since the qualifying process began, he didn't
bobble a routine. All his scores were 9.400 or better. During his
floor exercise -- a disaster in three previous meets -- he was
smiling before he even finished his last tumbling pass.
After his final routine, the still rings, he waved at the crowd
with his right hand, then lifted his left fist before exchanging a
long hug with his dad.
"Finally having a good competition is an indescribable
feeling," Roethlisbeger said. "It's just a hard situation to be
in seventh and still get in. I've always been a proponent of going
on the floor and going by the rankings."
McCain earned his spot after a four-year soul-searching journey,
brought on by his flop in the 1996 trials. He traveled to South
Africa to avoid the Atlanta Games, then rededicated himself to a
sport that nearly ruined his life.
Townsend finally cashed in on the potential he showed when he
became the junior champion three years ago. After a pair of mishaps
in preliminaries, he scored a 57.675, with no score less than
9.425, to finish the day second, 1.025 points behind Wilson.
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ALSO SEE
U.S. Gymnastics roster
Men's gymnastics results
Roethlisberger can't contain emotions over third Olympic team
Dawes and Chow in, but Miller will miss Sydney
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