GYMNASTICS / U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS : Atler Shows Bounce-Back Style

The year that will define Vanessa Atler’s career is about to begin, and it probably is going to feel like one long tumbling pass--from the World Championships in China in October to the Olympic trials next summer and finally to the Sydney Games next September.

“It feels like now, after championships, the clock is starting--to work my butt off, go out there and not stop,” said Atler, 17.

This week’s U.S. Gymnastics Championships helped set the stage: How will Atler, the Canyon Country gymnast who has such a combination of power, grown-up flair and a stunning vulnerability on uneven bars, handle the pressure of expectations that will accompany her?

With a certain grace, if her reaction to the fall on bars Thursday that probably cost her the all-around gold is any indication.

Atler came back Saturday to win gold medals on vault (9.675) and beam (9.775) in front of 11,729 at Arco Arena--and probably would have won a third gold on the floor, had she not withdrawn to save the pounding on her recently injured ankle. (Her 9.85 on floor Thursday was the highest score by any woman in any event during the championships.)

“This makes me feel better, but it was still a big mistake, and I can’t change it,” said Atler, who laughed her way through another round of questions about her penchant for falling on the bars.

“It’s definitely mental,” she said. “A couple of times I’ve conquered it, and thought it went away. I’ve talked to psychologists, but it’s mostly myself. Thousands of people have tried to help me.”

Unlike other meets where Atler would have been back on bars for the second day, this year the all-around was decided in one session, meaning Atler didn’t qualify for Saturday’s event finals, which became an optional affair.

Kristen Maloney, the all-around champion, withdrew from vault and floor to save her sore shins, but finished second to Atler on the beam--and Saturday it was Maloney’s turn to fall on uneven bars.

“She did what she need to do at the right time,” Atler said, refusing to imagine if the timing were reversed.

Atler’s coach, Beth Rybacki, wishes the fall was not such a focal point, saying Atler was “not in her best shape” because of the recent injury and because she is trying to peak at the World Championships.

But Atler knows the questions aren’t going away--not after three falls in three years at nationals and a few others as well.

The nationals were a big success for Atler and her teammates with the Charter Oak Gliders in Covina.

Jamie Dantzscher of San Dimas, 17, shared the gold on bars with Jennie Thompson of Cincinnati, scoring a 9.675, and Tabitha Yim of Irvine, 13, took silver in the junior all-around Saturday behind Kristal Uzelac.

Yim, 13, wasn’t even in the top 15 last year, but found herself accepting a medal from Nadia Comaneci and flowers from Bela Karolyi, the renowned coach.

It was an emotional victory for Yim, whose father died of an aneurysm three months ago.

“My dad passed away May 26,” Yim said.

Rybacki, her coach, hugged her unusually tightly when she won the silver.

“She said, ‘I’m sure he would be really proud,’ ” Yim said.