Men’s gymnastics: Lines? What lines?

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BEIJING -- Ouch. Jonathan Horton landed flat on his back on the landing of his second tumbling pass, and that was after Justin Spring nearly went off the mat once and out of bounds three times. Morgan Hamm did only one pass and also took a hard fall and seemed shaken.

Since the withdrawal of defending Olympic all-around gold medalist Paul Hamm, there is some concern about where the U.S. gymnasts will finish in team qualifying. Only the top eight of 12 teams advance to the team finals. Two years ago the U.S. men finished 13th at the world championships. Last year they finished fourth and just barely out of the medals.

Morgan Hamm, however, came back with a vibrant pommel horse routine that included high, fast confident flare work and a command of the landing. After this the men come over to the Main Press Center for a chat.

-- Diane Pucin