2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Day Four

IG Live Update: 5:45 PM: The gymnasts have finished their warmup.

IG Live Update: 6:01 PM: The gymnasts are performing their one-touch warmup.

IG Live Update: 8:55 PM: The gymnasts are being introduced again to the crowd. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin have secured berths to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.

The training squad is Bieger, Davis, Hong, Johnson, Larson, Liukin, Lothrop, Memmel, Peszek, Sacramone, Sloan and Worley.

Projected Olympic team

The U.S. doesn't have the depth it had in 2004, but will be able to put up three very strong routines on each event. The only question mark is uneven bars, which is where the Chinese could take a big advantage with two potential scores of 17.000.

Shawn Johnson: Solid as a rock here, throwing the hardest routines on three of the four events. I don't think floods — or even tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes or asteroids — could distract Shawn. She looks very unphased by everything. Her parents and coaches have done a tremendous job with her.

Nastia Liukin: Had a few misses here, but she and her dad know the time and place to nail everything when it counts is in August in Beijing, not June in Philadelphia. They've got to head back to Texas and perfect uneven bars, because a truly flawless routine there could lead to three golds for Nastia: team, all-around and uneven bars. Nastia is not just an artistic gymnast, she is a performer. But most significantly, she is a fierce competitor in the style of Svetlana Khorkina, doing routines and making skills the unbelievers say can't be done with her age and physique. She is the sport's leading lady today.

Alicia Sacramone: Even Marta Karolyi, who has tried to be as vague as possible about the potential team, admits Sacramone is a lock for this team. Alicia is unquestionably the best vaulter on the U.S. team, and also can contribute on balance beam and floor exercise in team finals. With her refreshing personality and poise, she is one of the best representatives for women's gymnastics today. Most importantly, she is a great leader and deserves to be team captain again. But with a sore calf and aching Achilles, this 19-year-old needs to avoid overtraining in the next six weeks to be fresh for Beijing. Marta and Mihai, let Alicia rest a little and enjoy her star status this summer.

Samantha Peszek: Proved her consistency all year with strong performances at the American Cup, U.S. Championships and U.S. Trials. The U.S. will need her double-twisting Yurchenko vault and possibly floor in team finals, and she can compete on any event in prelims. Sam has lots of tricks and clean form across the board and that plus consistency have moved her into Marta's winners column.

Chellsie Memmel: Clocked a ticket to Beijing with her strong performance on bars, an event where the U.S. desperately needs every tenth to not get clobbered by the Chinese. Memmel can also help on balance beam and floor exercise, where she does not hold back on the acrobatics. The only question mark for Memmel is her history of untimely injuries, but Marta can't deny a healthy Memmel.

Bridget Sloan: The U.S. Olympic team won't be announced until late July precisely because of gymnasts like Sloan, who needs more time to recover from her knee injury. The U.S. needs her on uneven bars, and extra focus here is what could secure her spot. Marta likes gymnastics like Bridget has, which is clean for the most part and done with an elegant body line.

Possible Alternates

Ivana Hong: A beautiful gymnast who performs with the elegance missing from too many gymnasts today, Ivana was thought to be too weak on uneven bars to contend. However, she boosted her stock in Philly with a 15.550 on uneven bars the second day. Her vault is underscored and her floor exercise is a treat to watch, but her balance beam is inconsistent.

Jana Bieger: Has plenty of experience and tricks, and can help on uneven bars, but she gets hammered by the B-Panel for her basic execution errors.

Mattie Larson: Another beautiful gymnast who Marta would love to show off. Her floor exercise will likely be well-received in preliminaries and the U.S. could use her there in the team finals. Even the non-gymnastics fan can see this gymnast's floor routine is more pleasing to watch than nearly every other one.

Chelsea Davis: Marta likes this gymnast, and it doesn't hurt that she is coached by former Karolyi gymnast Kim Zmeskal. She doesn't quite have the routines needed for big-time competition, but, like Larson, she is a rising star who could benefit from the Olympic experience.

The Big Question Mark

Shayla Worley: Shayla's back problems aren't going to go away overnight and herniated discs really only can be relieved by reducing training (or a last-resort surgery). She can't be counted out however, and she has the experience needed in Olympic competition. Not to mention she showed her toughness by gritting it through six routines in Philadelphia, and she gets points for just finishing her bars routine Sunday after that heavy fall. They won't risk a hurting gymnast even as an alternate, but if she's healthy, Shayla could bump Sloan off the team.

The Olympic trials will be a useful indicator, but it all comes down to what happens at the selection camp in one month. Reportedly there are three people on the selection committee, but Marta is it in reality, so who will impress her in July?