BEIJING — Less than 48 hours after being named to the U.S. men’s team as a replacement for the injured Morgan Hamm, Colorado’s Alexander “Sasha” Artemev came up big in the team qualification rounds Saturday as Olympic gymnastics competition began. Team USA advanced to Tuesday’s team finals by finishing sixth in the qualification rounds.
Artemev was the first man up for Team USA on its first apparatus, the rings, and last up on its final apparatus, pommel horse. Pommel horse is his best event, and he wowed the crowd to cap a solid day for the Americans despite not having a chance to train.
“He was amazing,” head coach Kevin Mazeika said. “Stepping in at the last minute, first time on the equipment, he did an incredible job and finished up a great day for Team USA with an absolutely amazing pommel horse routine.”
Artemev won a bronze in pommel horse at the 2006 world championships.
“I’m the scorer on pommel horse, they need my score,” said Artemev, who lives in Highlands Ranch. “To be the last guy up, it kind of feels good. I like those pressure situations — I feel really light, like I’m spinning in air.”
The son of a Soviet gymnast, Artemev is known for spectacular routines — especially on pommel horse — and a penchant for inconsistency. He came out of the Olympic Trials as an alternate because of falls there, and he was passed over two weeks ago when Hamm’s twin brother, Paul, had to be replaced after an injury.
But when Morgan had to withdraw, Artemev got the call about 9 p.m. Thursday.
“It’s great to go into this mix with these great guys, it feels awesome,” Artemev said. “It’s an experience, what can I say? This arena, this crowd — and team finals is going to be even more crazy.”
Artemev’s father, Vladimir, was in Denver. “For him it was a dream to be an Olympian,” Artemev said. “To see his son succeed and be an Olympian is something else. He said he’d rather watch it on TV because he just can’t take it — watching from the stands, he gets too nervous.”
Without the Hamm twins, Team USA came here without anyone with Olympic experience. Morgan Hamm is strong in pommel horse, floor exercises and vault, events in which Team USA is thin, so Artemev came into the building with a lot of responsibility on his chiseled shoulders.
“I’m just happy I did my job,” Artemev said. “The team asked me to step in and fill Morgan’s spot, which is the hardest spot to fill, and I think I felt a little bit of his voice.”
