Don't be deceived by the name: Nothing complete will come from next week's Olympic gymnastics team trials.
The 4-day event begins Thursday at the Wachovia Center. Afterward, two men and two women will be assured spots on the six-person teams (with three alternates) that will comprise the units that will compete in Beijing in August.
Thanks to a computerized winnowing system that projects the best possible team, the men's team, with alternates, likely would be complete by the trials' end.
The only thing is, Paul Hamm, who in 2004 became the only American man to win an Olympic gold medal in the all-around competition, won't participate in the trials. He is still recovering from surgery to repair a broken fourth metacarpal in his right hand, suffered May 22 during a parallel-bars routine at the Visa national championships in Houston.
Hamm won't leave the five-member selection committee hanging, said Ron Brandt, the coordinator for the men's team. Hamm's petition to be placed on the team will be reviewed at the event. Assuming its approval, on Tuesday, 2 days after the trials are over, Hamm will undergo an X-ray on the broken bone.
If the films show enough healing for Hamm to be fully cleared, Brandt said, "We'll put him on the team then."
Hamm, who has been keeping as fit as possible, would then have 3 weeks to prepare for the team's pre-Olympic training camp. Brandt said he has closely tracked Hamm's recovery and has even contributed to the plan.
"So far, so good," said Brandt, who is confident Hamm would pull himself out if his hand hurts. "If he's not ready to go, he's not going and getting a warmup jacket."
Hamm would join five other team members and three alternates, possibly among them Camden's Sean Golden, a floor, vault and rings specialist whose cause in making the top six might be helped by Hamm's all-around competence.
Morgan Hamm, Paul's twin, likely will be among them, too. His recovery from a torn pectoral muscle suffered in October continues to progress nicely, Brandt said. Morgan Hamm won the floor exercise last month at the Visa Championships.
The Hamms' comeback - they had stopped competing after the 2004 Games in Athens - would likely be the talk of the gymnastics scene, if not for a very strong and charismatic women's team, headlined by 16-year-old all-around world champion Shawn Johnson.
