BEIJING — With two alternates in the line-up replacing the only men on the team with previous Olympic experience, the performance of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team in Saturday’s qualification rounds was a pleasant surprise.
The question now is whether they can challenge for a medal in Tuesday’s team finals, four years after Paul Hamm led them to a silver medal in Athens.
Many wrote them off here after Hamm and his twin brother, Morgan, were forced to withdraw just days before these Games due to injuries. They were replaced by Raj Bhavsar and Alexander “Sasha” Artemev of Highlands Ranch.
“We read that stuff,” Artemev said. “You get angry and you’re like, ‘I’m going to prove some people wrong, hopefully turn some heads.’ We try not to think about that too much, we just try to go out there and do our jobs.”
Fourth in the world championships last year, the U.S. men were steady if unspectacular Saturday en route to finishing sixth in the qualifications. Artemev, Jonathan Horton and Kevin Tan were on the world championships team last year.
“We’re definitely coming from an underdog position,” said Artemev, who will join Jonathan Horton in the all-around event Thursday. “We go out there and do our job. Everybody is confident in what they’re doing.”
Now the format changes. In qualifications, teams put up five men on each apparatus and throw out the lowest score. The format in team finals calls for three on each apparatus — and they all count. Scores start over from scratch.
“In that three-up, three-count format, pressure’s a little more elevated, but I think we’re going to be able to handle it,” said Justin Spring.
China is the heavy favorite to win the team gold, as it did eight years ago in Sydney. Japan was second behind China in qualifications and Russia was third.
Despite their underdog status, the U.S. men were so energized by their performance Saturday they acted as if they wanted to go right back out on the floor.
“It’s just going to be awesome,” Horton said. “I feel like we’re just going to stay on fire and keep the ball rolling.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
