Wow what an incredible weekend of gymnastics! I missed the first day of men’s Olympic Trials. I was with the rest of my team from the 1996 Olympics in Chicago. We were inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame along with some other great athletes like Brian Boitano, David Robinson, Lones Wigger, Oscar de la Hoya, and others. Then it was up at 3am and on a plane a 6am. I headed to Philly for the Olympic Trials.

I get to wear many hats but one of my favorites is host of the WGYM radio program for the competition. The fist night of women’s competition was spectacular. I can’t get over the fact there were only about 4 falls in the whole competition. That bodes well for the US team. Shawn Johnson had an outstanding performance on all four events. She is rock solid with an infectious smile. It’s like she had absolutely no idea she is world champion. Hopefully she won’t realize how good she is until after the Olympics. Nastia Liukin came in second by half a point. She also had a wonderful competition. She nailed about the best vault she can do. Her beam and floor are so beautiful to watch with her long lines and artistry. Her bar dismount still comes in pretty low and I have a feeling the international judges are not going to be quite as forgiving as they have been here. But it’s just a marathon bar routine. I don’t know how she even makes it to the dismount.

Chellsie Memmel, shows her passion and her heart once again. She sits in third and is a contender for one of the top 2 spots that could solidify her a spot on the Olympic team. Other than a step out of bounds on the floor exercise she had a great competition. She is weakest on vault, like Nastia, both competing a yurchenko 1 ½ twist. But she stuck the landing just as she did at National Championships. That consistency is key for the team.

Alecia Sacramone and Samantha Peszek also look like they could be solidifying spots on the team. Two women will be named to the team tomorrow evening after the final round. The rest will head to a selection camp in a couple weeks where the final 6 will be nailed down.

On the men’s side, the finals were tonight with Paul Hamm and Jonathon Horton being named to the men’s Olympic Team. Others may be named tomorrow night. The men’s field is wide open. After Paul and Jon the rest of the team could be any of 12 other athletes. There were a few big mistakes this evening during first round and a very difficult pommel horse night for many. Sasha Artemov is one of the best in the world on PH but has trouble with consistency. Artemov opened the door for Morgan Hamm when he fell, once again, on the Pommel horse, his signature event. Morgan hit his 4 events but was not solid. He seemed to be a different gymnast tonight. It will be a close call to see if he’ll make the team. Home town boy Sean Golden was strong on his three events. And Joey Hagerty came out of no where to really shake up the line up with a great performance throughout the nationals and trials. David Durante was the life of the competition tonight pumping his fist and keeping the crown engaged as moved from event to event. Justin Spring has made an incredible comeback after blowing out his ACL last year at Nationals and injuring his ankle earlier this year. He looked great and really proved his case to make the team.

Stay tuned to NBC tomorrow evening for the women’s finals!

For more news, updates and information on Shannon Miller, please check out www.shannonmiller.com

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