Chellsie Memmel's ankle injury was worse than anyone realized. Memmel said after the U.S. women won the silver medal in team gymnastics Wednesday that she'd been competing with a broken bone in her right ankle.
Nastia Liukin is bringing the toughest uneven bars routine in the world, and Shawn Johnson will be strutting some of the strongest stuff on vault, floor and balance beam. When it comes to sauce and sass, no one comes close to Alicia Sacramone.
Samantha Peszek was doing one last tumbling run before the Americans left the warm-up gym when her ankle twisted and her teammates heard a "POP!"
The U.S. team limped Sunday through a mistake- and injury-marred performance, doing plenty to qualify for team finals Tuesday - and an anticipated match-up with the Chinese team - but leaving ample room for improvement.
At the World Championships, the Americans claimed top honors, beaming and cradling their gleaming gold medals. A step below, the Chinese were already dreaming of the next time gymnastics' two powerhouses would meet. That time is now.
Chellsie Memmel's Olympic experience has been reduced to one event, the uneven bars. The 2005 world champion is happy to have that.
When it came time for last-minute pep talks at the Olympic selection camp, Martha Karolyi didn't have to say much to Samantha Peszek.
Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone and Samantha Peszek are going to the Beijing Olympics. And they're bringing Bridget Sloan with them.
A case of whiplash forced Chellsie Memmel to miss three events on the first of a two-day Olympic selection camp. Tough as always, she returned in the last rotation with a near-perfect performance on beam.
With a pat on the head, 12 gymnasts advanced to Karolyi's ranch for the last stage of the selection process for naming the 2008 Olympic team. Only Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin are guaranteed spots; four are open.
Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin performed as expected on Day 1 of the Olympic Trials, all but locking up spots on the team for Beijing. Watch them and other gymnasts here and on NBC TV tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
It's a big decision, getting a tattoo. That bit of ink will be on you forever, so it better be something that means as much in 50 years as it does now.