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 got underway.
Team USA advanced to Tuesday’s team finals by finishing sixth in the qualifications rounds.
Artemev was the first man up for Team USA on their first apparatus of the day, rings, and last up on their final apparatus, pommel horse. Pommmel 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 on the equipment because of his late addition to the squad.
“He was amazing,” said head coach Kevin Mazeika. “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 medal 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. I just do it really carefully and just swung big.”
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 due to an injury.
But when Morgan had to withdraw as well, Artemev got the call about 9 p.m. Thursday night.
“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 back 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, the Team USA came here without anyone with Olympic experience. Morgan Hamm is strong in pommel horse, floor exercises and vault, events where 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.”
Coaches knew Artemev was capable of making a huge contribution if he could avoid the kind of problems he had at the trials. Mazeika made it clear the team was depending on him when he called with the good news he was on team.
“I said, ‘Sasha, you’re in now, you’ve got to step up and do the gymnastics that you know how to do,'” Mazeika said. “I thought he went out and did that today. I’m very proud of him.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
