Plan B....
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PHILADELPHIA -- David Durante, on the bubble for making the U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team, has some contingency plans in case his name isn’t announced today.
Owner of dual U.S.-Italian citizenship, he has an apartment in Rome waiting for him to move in. He will be on a plane to Europe if he’s not going to Beijing with the two athletes named on Saturday--Paul Hamm and Jonathan Horton--and the rest of the team.
‘I might be moving there for a few years to kind of figure things out,’ said Durante, who said he has no job there but no relationship or job here to bind him. ‘Once you get tied down it’s hard to do those things. if i want to do it, now’s the time to do it.’
He would be a good addition to the geam, but the need to balance event specialists and all-arounders may preclude his inclusion.
‘I feel like I’ve still got some competitions left in me, but if it is the end I’m really happy with the way things turned out. It’s a relief,’ he said. ‘If I don’t get selected to the team it’s going to be hard to take but I’ll be able to move on eventually and I’ll be cheering the guys on like you wouldn’t believe. These guys are my brothers, not only my competitors.’
--Helene Elliott
David Durante after completing still rings in Saturday’s competition. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images