NOTEBOOK: OLYMPIC PRESSURE AWAITS WORLD CHAMP.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Paul Hamm Paul Elbert Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a US gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Career In 2003, he became the first American man to win the all-round title at the world championships. still has tonight's event final in the floor exercise before he's officially done with the World Gymnastics Championships The World Gymnastics Championships are held every year. Artistic World Artistic Gymnastics Championships have been held since 1903. Year Games Host City Country 1903 I Antwerp Belgium 1905 II Bordeaux , but already the questions about the 2004 Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. in Athens, Greece, have begun. On Thursday night, Hamm became the first American First American may refer to:
Luckily, there was one person in attendance at the Pond on Friday night who could put things in perspective for him. ``I think right now he has no idea how big it really is,'' said Kim Zmeskal Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette (born February 6, 1976 in Houston, Texas) is an American retired gymnast and coach. As a young girl, Zmeskal was one of the first to sign up for gymnastics classes under the tutelage of coaching great Béla Károlyi who had recently bought a , the first American all-around world champion (1991), during an interview on the in-house radio broadcast. ``It's been 12 years since I won and it never really goes away.'' Hamm hopes he can duplicate his achievements in Athens and become the first American man to win the Olympic all-around title. One thing he might change, however, is the high-bar routine that ultimately won him the world championship title but has caused problems in the past because of its difficulty. For the Olympics, Hamm said he'd consider a more conservative routine. ``Originally I did (the routine) to win high bar (event final), but it ended up being so good that we put it in the all-around,'' Hamm said. ``It's risky and that's been my downfall.'' --Vise to compete in uneven bars Noun 1. uneven bars - a pair of parallel bars set at different heights; used in women's gymnastics uneven parallel bars bars, parallel bars - gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights : U.S. gymnast Hollie Vise has replaced injured teammate Courtney Kupets in tonight's uneven bars final. Vise scored a 9.500 on the uneven bars during the preliminaries but fell off the bars during the team final after a bizarre incident where she forgot her number and had to pin a piece of paper onto her back moments before her turn. --Sentimental favorite scratches: Oksana Chusovitina, the former Soviet gymnast who is the oldest woman competing at the world championships at 28, was a late scratch in the women's all-around competition. Chusovitina is a three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000) and won a team gold medal with the Unified team in 1992. She was the world champion in the floor exercise in 1991. --Hall of Fame: American Olympians Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Charles Lakes, Scott Keswick and Chris Waller and trampoline trampoline Resilient sheet or web (often of nylon) supported by springs in a metal frame and used as a springboard and landing area in tumbling. Trampolining is an individual sport of acrobatic movements performed after rebounding into the air from the trampoline. and tumbling's Bonnie Davidson and Harold Holmes Jr. will be inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame at a ceremony Aug. 23 in Anaheim. Double Olympic gold medalist and 1987 Hall of Fame inductee Peter Vidmar will be master of ceremonies during a luncheon at 11:45 a.m. in the Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. Much of the Anaheim Convention Center has been renovated in recent years with state-of-the-art facilities. ballroom. Staff Writer Jill Painter contributed to this report. Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Paul Hamm hopes to become the first American man to win the Olympic all-around title. Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press |
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