Olympic draw not ideal for U.S., but not bad, either

The Olympic Draw was just conducted in Tianjin, China, and if the rules for 2008 were the same as, say, 1996, then the American men and Romanian women would not be very pleased right now. But 1996 was when the team finals comprised only four women's teams and six for the men. Beijing will feature eight teams in the finals for both men and women, same as four years ago in Athens.

The U.S. men will open its Olympic bid on rings in the first of three subdivisions, beginning at noon on Aug. 9. Not that the Americans will be thrilled to be the opening act — that fate contributed to their absence from of the 2006 World Championship team final — but it could hinder their qualification to apparatus finals when you consider the usual stingy scoring early in a competition. (Greece's Vlasios Maras comes to mind in 2004 on high bar.)

"The draw is out of our control, so now that we know, we're going to prepare accordingly and stay focused on what we have control over, and that's our gymnastics," U.S. Olympic coach Kevin Mazeika told IG. "Not [competing] at the break of dawn is good. A noon start is fine."

The presence of defending Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm should make things even better for the U.S. team, which competed without him at the last two world championships. "Certainly, having Paul Hamm on our team — obviously, he has to make the team — helps the entire squad. He brings a lot of experience and credentials to the table."

Taking an optimistic view, going first could actually be a positive for the U.S. men, since they will have no mental distractions of what their competitors might have done in an earlier session. And if they hit cold, it will only increase the pressure on the teams to follow.

The U.S. women drew the second of four subdivisions and will begin on floor exercise. "There are better starting positions," said U.S. national team coordinator Marta Karolyi, when IG informed her of the draw. "But pretty much, if you prepare, you have to handle any kind of start. So that's the approach that I really like to take. Certainly, we will start training based on this information."

Karolyi said she prefers starting on vault, and that balance beam is the hardest event because of its inherent pressure. "We started in Stuttgart (at the 2007 World Championships) on beam, and we made the special preparation and it really worked," she said.

While most teams favor the final sessions, the U.S. can take comfort that its main challengers, China and Romania, drew the short straws this time. In Subdivision I, Romania will begin on vault, China the balance beam. Asked if she was glad the U.S. didn't get China's draw, Karolyi laughed and said, "I don't know, because it worked for us in Stuttgart."

An early draw should matter little to the U.S., China and Romania, since they are virtually assured spots in the team final. But the later rounds could benefit the bubble teams in their quest to make the top eight. And with only 12 full teams in the competition, that pretty much includes everyone.