WONDER POWERS GATSON RETURNS TO WORLDS AFTER FIGHTING INJURIES.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne Staff Writer

After six surgeries in four years, Jason Gatson, once the wonder kid of American gymnastics in 1997, returned to the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in June and did just what everyone expected.

He fell.

On the parallel bars no less, his best event, and the first event of the competition. It seemed Gatson's comeback from yet another knee surgery in 2001 was over as a dismal number flashed across the scoreboard.

But Gatson had learned something in the four years since he first blew out his knee in 1999. During the years of painful rehabilitation sessions he endured, in the hopes of returning to the level that made him the youngest U.S. male gymnast ever to compete in a World Gymnastics Championships at age 17, Gatson had learned never to give up.

By the end of the first day of competition, Gatson trailed first-day leader Paul Hamm by only 0.425. Still, not everyone believed he was fully recovered.

But when Gatson finished second in the all-around competition and won the national championship on the parallel bars, he qualified for the World Gymnastics Championships (Saturday through Aug. 24) at the Pond in Anaheim and ended the lingering doubts about his health.

``I was a little surprised myself,'' said Gatson, who was born in Mesa, Ariz., but grew up in Upland. ``I feel like I haven't been out there for a while. But I'm really excited to be able to perform in front of our home crowd at the world championships.

``It was cool to go (to the world championships) when I was 17, but I think it's going to be a very different experience this time. It means so much more to me because of what I've been through.''

At 23, Gatson is a different gymnast than he was at 17. While he might be able to challenge the world's best in the floor exercise (he topped Alexei Nemov, the 2000 Olympic champion, several times before the injury), Gatson has become the strongest gymnast on the U.S. team.

While he was rehabilitating his knee, Gatson was limited to strength work on his upper body. That's paid off in events such as the parallel bars and rings, which place a premium on upper-body strength.

``He's made a positive out of the injury by increasing his strength,'' said Vitaly Marinitch, a former Soviet gymnast and Gatson's coach since he came to the national team training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1996.

``In his mind, all the time was to get back to being a top athlete. ... After the (surgery in 2001), his knee felt much stronger than the first time and that helped to build his confidence. It took another year to return to competition, and then he competed a lot and did well this year so that helped his confidence, also.''

To protect his knee, Gatson wears a brace when performing in the floor exercise and vault. As such, his starting values for each event are not at 10.0. That could be a problem in the all-around competition, and a decision has not yet been made on whether he will compete in the all-around.

But Marinitch thinks Gatson's mental strength is reason enough to enter him in the all-around.

``Most people would've fallen apart after that,'' Marinitch said of Gatson's fall in the first event at the national championships. ``But Jason is a very stable gymnast, he didn't get rattled by it. That's what a gymnast must have to do well under pressure at these events.

``His knee keeps him from starting at a 10.0 on the vault and floor, but I think he would do well in the all-around.''

Even if he does not compete in the all-around, Gatson has a good chance of medaling in the parallel bars because of the strength in his upper body.

``I always felt with all the strength work I was doing that I could still compete and make an impact in the sport,'' Gatson said. ``Even with everything, I still thought there was something I could do to fix it. I guess I was never really ready to give up.''

WORLD GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where: The Pond in Anaheim.

When: Saturday-Aug. 24.

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: www.ticketmaster.com or [phone], [phone], [phone], or (619) 220-TIXS.

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

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) After knee surgery, Jason Gatson was limited to working on upper-body strength, which has paid off in events such as the rings.

(2) Jason Gatson, who grew up in Upland, finished second in the all-around competition at the U.S. championships in June.

Box:

WORLD GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS (see text)