BEIJING — With two alternates in the lineup replacing the only men on the team with previous Olympic experience, the performance of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team in Saturday’s qualifying 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, Morgan, were forced to withdraw just days before the 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 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.
China is the favorite to win the team gold, as it did in 2000. 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.
“I feel like we’re just going to stay on fire and keep the ball rolling,” Horton said.
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
