U.S. Men’s Senior National Team Set to Train in Columbus with Wilson, Hamms Thursday-Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
April 24, 2007
Columbus, Ohio – Fourteen members of the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team will train with Ohio State men’s gymnastics head coach Miles Avery and Olympians Blaine Wilson and Paul and Morgan Hamm Thursday through Saturday at Steelwood Athletic Training Center located at 1160 Steelwood Dr. The group will hold two training session each of the three days from 9 a.m.-noon and from 4-6 p.m. Only David Sender of Stanford will not be in attendance this week.
With the 2008 Beijing Olympics approaching, Avery invited the current national representatives to train at Ohio State in order to meet and train with the trio of veteran gymnasts.
“The best gymnasts will be in our gym to meet and get to know Paul, Morgan and Blaine as teammates,” Avery said. “This group of guys will be the team that competes at the World Championships and decide whether or not the U.S. will compete at the next Olympics.”
To qualify to the 2008 Olympics, the U.S. must finish in the Top 12 at the world competition.
Finishing their degrees in nearly two and a half years, Morgan Hamm graduated from Ohio State March 18 with a degree in exercise science while Paul Hamm will be graduating in June with a degree in accounting. The pair and Wilson announced their return to competitive gymnastics last February with hopes to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. All three will continue to train under Avery at Ohio State.
“After being away from gymnastics for two years this will be a great opportunity to practice with the current U.S. National Team members,” Paul Hamm said. “We want to be familiar with the younger team members to help build team camaraderie. This training session will give us a chance to get back in the groove.”
“I’m not expecting too much from my gymnastics because it has been two years since I have competed competitively,” Morgan Hamm said. “This week will be a time for us to share our experiences with the guys and to build team spirit.” Former Buckeye and Olympic silver-medalist Wilson is aiming to make his fourth Olympic team in 2008.
The current national team members, their personal coaches and two members from the National Governing Body (USA Gymnastics) will make the trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the training sessions. Former Buckeye Raj Bhavsar (2000-03) returns to Ohio State after making the national team placing third on the still rings at the 2007 Winter Cup Challenge.
