Word: all-around
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...Famously without the Hamm twins, Paul and Morgan, both of whom pulled out of the Beijing Games due to nagging injuries that prevented them from performing at their peak (Paul is the defending Olympic all-around champion, and Morgan is a 2004 veteran), working as a cohesive unit was the only way the U.S. was ever going to reach the medal stand. And Tan knew just the way to do that - by keeping his teammates confident and deaf to the doubters. Texan Jonathan Horton, the team's best all-around gymnast who came a few tenths short of an ...
...teammates, combined to bring the under-appreciated Americans to the medal stand. "I was nervous not so much on my own behalf but for everyone else," says Horton. "We all want [so badly] to see each other do well." Artemev and Horton are the U.S.'s entrants into the all-around competition, which takes place August 14, a far less collegial contest that pits one gymnast against another on all six apparatus. But even then, it's likely that the two won't be competing alone - at least in spirit. "Team is everything," says head coach Kevin Mazeika. "Our mantra...
...fall or anything. But it gave us a tiny disturbance at the last minute - we had to reorganize things, and readdress." It was the women squad's second injury in as many weeks - the first came just days before the Games, when Chellsie Memmel, a contender for the all-around title and a critical part of the U.S. women's bid against the Chinese for the team gold, also aggravated a fickle ankle on a tumbling combination. The second mishap's timing clearly rattled the team, which looked jittery on the first few events of the afternoon...
...with the Magnificent Seven. But without Peszek, all four of the girls' scores had to count, and thus there was no room for error. "It was a big shock to us," says Shawn Johnson, who nevertheless laid down four solid routines and now leads the point count for the all-around title. "It's something we weren't expecting. It threw us for a loop. It's more stressful knowing we only had four [gymnasts] and that it is four up and four [scores] count. But we put it into our minds that we couldn't let anything...
...alternate for injured teammates, Memmel hurt her foot and missed the 2004 Olympic squad. The following year, she claimed the world championship title and then tore her shoulder, which required more than a year of rehab. Coming into Beijing, Memmel was finally healthy, and a contender for the all-around title currently held by American Carly Patterson. She was also a critical part of the U.S. women's effort to battle China for the team gold...