+Off strong showings, U.S. gymnasts seeking Olympic gold+
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By John Nestor
SportsTicker Staff Writer

BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - Four years after failing to medal
in team or all-around competition, the United States men's and
women's gymnastic teams will be going to Greece gunning for gold.

Both squads are coming off strong showings at the most recent
World Championships.  Fifth at the Olympics four years ago, the
men were runners-up to China, while the women claimed the world
title after finishing fourth at Sydney.

The men are looking for their first gold medal in a
non-boycotted Olympics.  Reigning world champion Paul Hamm leads
the team and certainly will improve on his 14th-place finish in
the all-around competition four years ago.

Holdover Blaine Wilson will offer experience and some motivation
was well. By earning a spot on the squad, he made his third
Olympic team, a feat made even more remarkable considering he is
five months removed from tearing his left biceps.

"It means so much to me to be a part of this team and represent
my country," Wilson said. "Every day, I'm going to to be
grateful for this opportunity and take full advantage of it."

To do so, the U.S. men will have to deal with perennial power
China, which also is the defending gold medalists.  The Ukraine
and Russia captured silver and bronze, respectively, in Sydney.

Hamm is favored to win the gold, but faces strong competition
from China's Yang Wei and Japan's Hiroyuki Tomita.  Russia's
Alexei Nemov won the all-around gold in 2000.

The women's squad is led by Carly Patterson and co-national
champion Courtney Kupets as it looks to rebound from its
performance in Sydney, where the U.S. women failed to medal for
the first time since 1976.

The only shortcoming for the American women may be a lack of
experience on the tense Olympic stage.  Alternate Tasha
Schwikert is the only holdover from the 2000 squad.

Patterson, the silver medalist at the Worlds, is America's best
hope for a medal in the all-around competition, where she will
again have to deal with Russia's Svetlana Khorkina. The reigning
world champion, Khorkina, 25, is trying to become the first
non-teen to win the all-around gold since 1968.

Kuperts and Courtney McCool, who finished second at the Olympic
trials in June, also could challenge for medals in the all-around.

Romania is a threat to defend its Olympic gold medal, while
mainstays China and Russia also cannot be discounted.
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