Six days and counting..
August 2, 2008
It has been a difficult time for men’s gymnastics in the last couple of weeks. On a sad note Paul Hamm withdrew from the US Olympic Team due to injury. He was unable to feel 100% prepared for the upcoming games after breaking his 4th metatarsal at the National Championship. He looked great during the recent training camp but was having issues with other parts of his body, possibly due to compensation for his hand. Paul made the decision to step down and allow another athlete to compete for the team. On a positive note, that athlete was Raj Bhavsar who was alternate for the 2004 Olympic team and had staged an impressive comeback, in the minds of the judges, this year. It was difficult to watch him be placed into the alternate position once again after the trails so it’s nice to see Raj get his shot.
The US tour of “Super Stars” roster and cities will be announced shortly. As much as these athletes are looking forward to the Olympics they are also looking forward to the post-Olympic tour! So watch for more info coming soon.
6 days and counting until the Opening ceremonies!!!
Oh and don’t forget that the US Olympic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be on NBC at 1:30 Sunday August 3rd. Watch the Mag 7 and other great athletes as they get inducted. It was fun to see how everyone has grown up and changed throughout the years. Most people remember us at age 15 or maybe 17 years old but now we have mothers, gym owners, gym coaches, a doctor, a lawyer and professional speakers on board! And no hair scrunchies in site!
For more news, updates and information on Shannon Miller, please check out www.shannonmiller.com
August 4th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Paul Hamm has two Olympics and a Gold medal that isn’t his. I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
I feel badly for Yang Tae Young.
You would think how robbed you were of that AA medal in 1992 you would have some sympathy for poor Yang Tae Young . I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.
The rumor is Paul wasn’t as injured (hand)as he made it out to be and that he hurt his shoulder falling off of an event in practice, injuring his shoulder badly. This came from a close member of his family to my friend who knows the family. How about that karma.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I have to disagree that Paul Hamm’s gold medal isn’t his. If the scoring error had happened in the final rotation, then yes, you could say unequivocally that Yang Tae Young was the winner. But there’s no way of knowing what would have happened if Yang Tae Young had entered the final rotation in the lead. He might have done the same routine he did in the actual competition, or the pressure might have gotten to him and he might have crashed and burned, as Paul Hamm did in the same situation at Worlds a couple of years before. You can’t assume that the outcome would have been the same — the psychological pressure on each athlete would have been very different. Which, if you read the report of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, is one of the main reasons they didn’t re-allocate the medals.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
My opinion is based on the Gymnastics of that competition that day. Tang Tae Yiung won the medal and the judges agreed. A technicality gave Ham a medal he did not deserve.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Shannon,
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on the training regimen of Shawn Johnson. Unlike most Olympic gymnasts, she trains four hours a day rather than the 6 - 8 that other gymnasts undertake.
She has had amazing success so I’d like your thoughts on this issue - is it simply Shawn’s individual characteristics that make it possible for her to be so successful with less training hours or is this something that could be adapted to other athletes. If it can be adapted, should it be? Is it a better way to train athletes?