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Double your pleasure Hamms surprise, Roethlisberger survives at gym trials
BOSTON (AP) -- Dinners at the Hamm household won't be quite as tense anymore. Paul and Morgan Hamm are going to the Olympics. 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. 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. The committee gave one 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 1 1/2 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 the 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," Roethlisberger 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." 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. 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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