Johnson Returns to Win Olympic Gymnastic Berth

Scott Johnson’s comeback and Dan Hayden’s collapse will ensure a mixture of youth and experience for the American men’s Olympic gymnastics team.

Johnson, a member of the U.S. gold medal winning team at the 1984 Olympics, recovered from a broken bone in his right hand to land a spot on the six-man team determined after Friday night’s optional competition at the trials.

Lakes finished first in the All-Around and Johnson put together enough solid routines to finish second.

But it was the final event downfall of Hayden, the national champion, which ultimately determined the six-man team.

Hayden, from Woodard, Pa., was a virtual cinch for the team going into the final round, but fell twice to the mat while trying to executive a pair of high-risk Kovac releases. He finished with an 8.30 score, and dropped from third place to eighth.

Hayden still had a chance to make the team after his first fall, but lost another half point when he again missed the same release.

“I felt I needed a 9.0 to make the team and I had to take that risk,” Hayden said of his second attempt. “It’s tough, it’s hard to handle. I trained for 17 years. I guess I didn’t want to go without Dennis.”

Dan Hayden’s twin brother, Dennis, finished 11th in the competition.

In contrast, Johnson was a bundle of satisfaction, having rallied from the brink of elimination.

“I feel wonderful,” Johnson said. “I can’t believe I did so well. Something inside me made me go for it. I knew this would be my last chance.”

Johnson also said the Olympics will be his final competition.

“After Seoul, this old boy is retiring,” he said.

Also qualifying for the team that will try to repeat America’s gold medal team effort in Los Angeles four years ago were University of Nebraska teammates Kevin Davis and Wes Suter, both of Lincoln, and Lance Ringnald, a May high school graduate from Albuquerque who also is headed for Nebraska after Seoul. The sixth member of the team is another relative unknown, Dominick Minicucci, a freshman at the University of Illinois.

Tom Schlesinger, another gymnast from Nebraska, will be the alternate.

Tim Daggett, along with Johnson the only holdover members from the 1984 team, failed to finish Friday’s optionals and ended a gutty but pain-filled bid to make the team. He was trying to come back from a broken leg he suffered at the world championships last year in Rotterdam, but could not continue because of pain.

Lakes, from Chatsworth, Calif., finished first in the All-Around with 116.060 points through the two days of competition.

Johnson, who also competed at perennial NCAA powerhouse Nebraska during his collegiate career, scored 115.800 points under a scoring system that emphasized his performance in the trials.

Davis was third with 115.290 points and Suter finished fourth with 114.970. Ringald was fifth with 114.910 and Minicucci sixth with 114.650. Schlesinger just missed at 114.580.

Lakes, noted for his high-flying routine on the precarious horizontal bar, finished the night with a near perfect effort on the apparatus. He executed two flawless releases and finished off his winning 9.95 routine with a double layout dismount, sticking his landing.

Johnson, at 27 the oldest member of the National Team, was able to do what Daggett couldn’t--recover from a major injury.

Johnson broke a bone in his right hand during a training session in May, and like Daggett passed up the U.S. Championships. But he arrived in Salt Lake City at full strength and his confidence steadily grew through the two days of competition.

He opened with a solid 9.70 on the pommel horse optional Friday, followed it with 9.75s on the still rings and floor exercises. When he finished the night with a 9.60 on the vault, he knew he had secured a reservation in Seoul, running into the stands to hug his mother Betty.