Now, the waiting is hardest part for some women gymnasts
PHILADELPHIA -- Just before the second and final day of the women's U.S. Olympic trials began Sunday, the men's Beijing squad was announced. Those athletes who wrapped up competition Saturday now know their fates and can begin training for the Games.
The women (minus Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, who were named to the team Sunday after finishing first and second, respectively, in the weighted results of the trials and last month's nationals) won't know where they stand until the end of the final selection camp July 16-20, about two weeks before the Olympics begin.
But that doesn't mean the Olympic team isn't already taking shape.
Marta Karoyli, wife of gymnastics coaching legend Bela, is the team coordinator (read: mastermind) of the U.S. women's Olympic squad. Her opinion carries much weight to the sport in this country, and what she thinks about the young women who competed in these trials speaks volumes about who will likely make the team.
While she said she would rather not name anyone to the team this far before the Games -- not even the top two finishers -- Karoyli praised third-place finisher Chellsie Memmel, fourth-place finisher Samantha Peszek and three-event specialist Alicia Sacramone following Sunday's competition.
"Chellsie was excellent. She showed she is back where she was ... when she won the [2005] world championship all-around," Karoyli said. "A real high consideration."
Karolyi even went so far to say Sacramone, the national champion on vault and 2007 world runner-up on the floor exercise, had secured a spot on the team.
"The team would not be the same team without an Alicia Sacramone," Karoyli said with a big smile. "Outstanding. Her two vaults were extremely good -- extremely good, not just good. That's really something which is definitely a medal contender."
Twelve girls from the 19 competing at the trials were chosen to attend the selection camp, including Johnson and Liukin, who will train at the camp. Memmel, Peszek and Sacramone will be joined by Jana Bierger, Chelsea Davis, Ivana Hong, Mattie Larson, Corrie Lothrop, Bridget Sloan and Shayla Worley.
They aren't the first group of Olympic hopefuls to go through the selection camp process, and they won't be the last.
Because it's working.
Selection camps for the Olympic teams have been around for the past three Games, and were put into place as a year-round training program for national and world team contenders in 2001, after the 2000 women's Olympic team failed to stand on the medals podium in Sydney, finishing fourth. The gymnastics powers that be decided there needed to be a sort of diplomat overlooking the entire national program. Karolyi was given the job.
Now, instead of gymnasts training at their home gyms as individuals up until the major meets, they gather every four-to-six weeks at the Women's National Team Training Center at the sprawling Karolyi Ranch in Huntsville, Texas. The girls travel with their coaches to the camp, but are then evaluated by the national staff and given pointers on how to improve their gymnastics when they head back home.
Having this year's Olympic team selection camp in late July, Karolyi said, ensures the athletes are chosen based on the condition they'll be in come August.
"I always like to leave the [selection] date closer to the competition," Karolyi said. "Probably, if it were up to me, I would have liked to pick nobody just because I like to select a team on the closer date because that shows us what kind of ... competition or shape they are just before they leave for the Games."
The reasoning is logical, but the big question is whether leaving the athletes in waiting for nearly a month after the Olympic trials and naming the six-member team plus alternates so close to the Games is fair to them.
"That's so not fair that the men just get to come and compete and know who's on the team," Worley said with a bit of a smile. But while she might not be happy that a full women's team wasn't named Sunday, Worley admits the three extra weeks before the camp gives her time to heal a still-nagging back injury. The all-arounder competed in only three events during the trials due to the injury, and would like to get back on the floor by the selection camp.
"For me, it's definitely good because you can tell from [the trials] that I'm not quite 100 percent yet," said Worley, who said she knows Karolyi believes time is running out for her to get over her injury. "So I really need these three weeks to get there."
"They want to pick the team that's ready at the exact moment, and I understand that. You know, it's best country," Peszek said. "Once we know we're on the team, they know we're ready and prepared and they're ready to send us to China. It'll be crazy, but I'm excited for the next three weeks."
Memmel said she'll be putting the time to good use.
"I know it's definitely an advantage for me when I keep wanting to add things to my routines," she said.
So while Johnson and Liukin can already call themselves Olympians, and Memmel, Peszek and Sacramone seem to have their spots on hold, the rest of the bunch is seemingly fighting for the sixth and final spot.
Seven young ladies have another three weeks before they can prove they deserve it -- whether they the like it or not.
Alisha Ricardi is an editor for ESPN.com.
