Hamm’s situation shows gymnasts have right idea

PHILADELPHIA -- If Paul Hamm were a swimmer, his Beijing Olympic hopes would have gone under when he broke a bone in his right hand last month.

If track and field were his sport, he wouldn’t get to the starting line in August.

But because the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials are not the lone factor in determining the Beijing squad, Hamm’s quest for a second successive all-around gold medal is alive -- and that’s good for him and the men’s team.

In this country, swimming and track are among the sports that base their selections on Olympic trials. Discretion is allowed only in choosing relay participants.

Gymnastics, like figure skating, allows athletes who are unable to compete at the trials to petition for an Olympic spot.

Hamm did that soon after he fell on the parallel bars at the U.S. championships and fractured a bone in his ring finger.

These aren’t new rules, and there are precedents for this. Most recently, Blaine Wilson tore a biceps six months before the Athens Games but was given a berth. He contributed to a team silver medal.

“It’s a tough situation. I don’t like being in this position,” Hamm said Thursday before the men competed at the Wachovia Center.

“It’s not fair, because all the other athletes have to go through the process. But this is the only way for me to be allowed to be on the Olympic team. I think I can bring something that will help out.”

So do his potential teammates.

“I think for Paul’s situation it is fair. He’s shown this whole year that he’s in another league,” said Alexander Artemev, who topped the first-night standings with 90.65 points.

“It would be a shame if he wasn’t on this team.”

The procedures include a safeguard that makes it reasonable for Hamm to be included.

USA Gymnastics will name a six-man team and up to three alternates by July 1. Each must prove his readiness to a five-person committee during a performance camp July 13-22 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

If Hamm hasn’t healed, the committee could remove him, replace him with an alternate and name another alternate.

“We’re a team sport, and we’ve learned from experience that if we’re going to put our best team on the floor at the Olympic Games we need to allow for these things to happen,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.

“The analogy I would use is if you have Michael Jordan on your team and he has a sprained ankle for the first round of the playoffs, you want to make sure he’s going to be around for the Finals. You’re not going to kick him off your squad and put somebody else in there if you think he’s going to be available.”

Hamm said he will bow out if his recovery stalls badly.

“If I got to the point where I’m six days out from the time when I need to show the committee that I’m ready and I haven’t done a single thing on the equipment, I’ll say I’m done and I can’t make it,” he said.

“I’m willing to accept that. But I don’t think that will be the case.”

It says a lot that competitors here don’t begrudge him a Beijing berth.

“No way, absolutely not. Paul deserves it,” said Justin Spring, who had Thursday’s top parallel bars score, 15.70.

“The reason we select our Olympic team with a selection committee instead of just taking results is because of things like this.”

So what if this makes the trials really more of an audition. The idea is to assemble the best team, and if that means giving Hamm every chance to heal, that’s the way to go.

--

Helene Elliott can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.