AN OLD FACE, A NEW ERA WILSON, 29, LEADS SOLID U.S. TEAM.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Blaine Wilson vigorously chewed his gum, flashed a few smiles and joked around with his teammates. He fits in just fine.

Except for his wedding band. And the fact he's a new father.

Beside that, the 29-year-old elder statesman of USA gymnastics is just like his teammates.

Wilson, who has won five national titles and competed in two Olympics, anchors a U.S. team with lofty expectations. He's an older face who's willing to help usher in a new phase in USA gymnastics: a winning tradition.

``It's amazing,'' USA coach Kevin Mazeika said. ``I call him the spring chicken. He's 29, and he's never felt better. It speaks to his level of competition. There's all these 22- and 23-year-olds and he's hanging with them.''

Wilson doesn't just hang. He does every routine with the same degree of difficulty as his counterparts. He's also the team captain and most recognizable figure.

``I may be a little older than the rest of the team, but I've taught them to not take a back seat,'' Wilson said. ``There's a line between cockiness and confidence you need to have. You have to have a little swagger to medal.''

With Wilson as their guide, that's what the U.S. envisions. Never has a U.S. team looked so talented in the past two decades. The United States stunned China to win the gold in the 1984 Olympics but a series of disappointing performances have followed.

Perhaps twins Morgan and Paul Hamm, Raj Bhavsar, Jason Gatson and Brett McClure will help reverse the trend, with Wilson leading the way, of course.

That Wilson is here is remarkable. He considered retirement many times, even taking a six-month break from the sport in 2000. However, despite shoulder surgery, other injuries and his relatively advanced years, he couldn't bring himself to quit.

``He has this hunger that won't go away,'' McClure said. ``That's his best quality. If he gets put down, he'll come back twice as hard.''

Wilson is hardly down.

He has a daughter who will turn 1 in October and finally has the hang of balancing his training schedule and parenting duties.

And he's healthy, allowing him to compete at the highest level of the sport when most gymnasts are well into their second careers. He couldn't be happier.

``To me, gymnastics is fun,'' he said. ``I'm still learning things. Every time I go to the gym, I learn something new. I wouldn't like it if it was stale. Training with these kids helps me out and makes me feel young. Physically, I'm in better shape than I have been.''

The only thing missing for Wilson is a world title. This team probably isn't in the class of China, which won four world titles in the 1990s and won gold in Sydney, but many people it could medal.

And what better place to do it than here - just the third time the U.S. has hosted the world championships.

Three-time Olympian John Roethlisberger, now an observer, hasn't been this excited about a U.S. team in a long time.

``I think we're definitely in a great situation, probably better than we've been in a long time,'' Roethlisberger said. ``This is the best team, depth-wise, top to bottom. I carefully say that we're almost favored to win a medal, which is almost unheard of in the last 20 years, since the '84 Olympics. It's a great situation to be in.''

Wilson would agree.

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com

AT A GLANCE

What: World Gymnastics Championships.

Where: The Pond, Anaheim.

When: Saturday-Aug. 24.

Today: Opening ceremonies, 7-9 p.m., free and open to public.

TV: Ch. 4, women's team finals, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Aug. 23; men's competition, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Aug. 24; women's all-around, 4-5 p.m., Aug. 24.

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com or by phone [phone], or (619) 22-TIXS.

Participants: More than 600 athletes, from 73 countries.

Economic impact: $30 million (estimated).

At stake: Qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

- Jill Painter

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

AT A GLANCE (see text)