SAN JOSE, Calif. — They had moved on with their lives. College. Careers. Commercials. For members of the 2008 Olympics women’s gymnastics team, their time in the spotlight had come and gone.
Or maybe not.
Three of them, in the ripe old ages of their early 20s, are back — and hungry for a crack at a rare second Olympics. Defending all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin, Bridget Sloan and Alicia Sacramone all have their sights set on making the London Games as the women’s portion of the U.S. Olympic trials begin Friday at HP Pavilion.
The presence of these veterans only adds to the tough decisions that the selection committee has to make this weekend as it sifts through a ridiculously deep talent pool to choose a five-gymnast squad favored to win gold in London.
“When I was standing on the podium in Beijing in 2008, I never would have thought that I would be back here four years later,” said Liukin, 22, who won five medals. “In a lot of ways, it’s a huge accomplishment just getting here.”
But they want more.
“It’s unique to have one Olympian try to come back, but three is really wild,” said Sloan, 20. “Gymnastics is just a sport that once you fall in love with it, it’s just so hard to walk away. It would be such an honor to get the chance to wear those USA colors again.”
All eyes are on a pair of 16-year-olds: reigning world champion Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas. Aly Raisman, a bronze medalist in the floor exercise at last year’s world championships, joins them as gymnasts expected to make the team. And McKayla Maroney, the reigning world vault champion who suffered a concussion and fractured nose at the recent Visa national championships, is healthy.
But Liukin, Sacramone and Sloan all hope to be in the mix.
The all-around winner of this weekend’s competition among the 15 gymnasts earns the single automatic Olympic berth. The other four spots will be selected by the committee following the competition Sunday night. The challenge is especially daunting for Sacramone and Liukin, who would have to make the team as specialists.
“Five girls are going to see their dreams come true, and the other 10 probably are going to be pretty devastated,” Liukin said.
