Karolyi lets the pressure mount

PHILADELPHIA -- If USA Gymnastics had a sense of drama and fairness, if it had insisted that the women’s Olympic selection process not end behind closed doors at Martha Karolyi’s Texas ranch, at least three women would have been nominated to the team Sunday instead of the minimum two.

Based on the national championships and the just-completed Olympic trials, five tickets to Beijing could have been issued without any dispute.

Shawn Johnson, remarkably consistent and powerful in earning the top all-around score at both competitions, and Nastia Liukin, twice the runner-up despite shaky moments Sunday on every apparatus, deserved the berths promised to the top two finishers.

Clearly the class of the field, they got to enjoy the moment on national television. They were also spared the anxiety looming for the 10 women invited to a selection camp at Martha and Bela Karolyi’s training center near Houston, where the rest of the team and up to three alternates will be announced July 20.

Johnson and Liukin should have shared the spotlight Sunday with Chellsie Memmel, who got stronger as the competition wore on.

Memmel, battling injuries since she won the 2005 world all-around title, finished with a dynamic floor exercise routine that drew a standing ovation from the crowd -- and, more important, from Karolyi, the women’s national team coordinator.

“Chellsie was excellent,” Karolyi said, her praise the equivalent of a papal blessing.

Asked who had helped her Olympic chances this weekend, Karolyi quickly cited Samantha Peszek, who tied for second on floor exercise and was fourth in the all-around, vault and balance beam.

“She showed me she is one person we can count on to have on the team,” Karolyi said.

And when vault specialist Alicia Sacramone was mentioned, Karolyi almost gushed.

“The team would not be the same team without an Alicia Sacramone,” Karolyi said.

Then why not designate all three Olympians immediately, as the men’s team did in choosing Paul Hamm and Jonathan Horton on Saturday and filling out its roster Sunday?

Karolyi likes to wait as long as possible to guard against late injuries and complacency. But control issues surely play at least a small part in this.

“We all wish they’d named more than two today,” said Sacramone, who didn’t compete on the uneven bars but was tops on the vault and fifth on the balance beam and floor exercise.

“But we understand why they did it, and we know we have to go to the camp and prove ourselves again and pretty much keep working.”

No thought was given to naming more than two team members, Karolyi said.

“If it would be up to me I wouldn’t like to name nobody, just because I like to select the team close to the meet because that shows what kind of competitional shape they are just before we leave for the Games,” Karolyi said.

She did have the grace to concede that, in essence, only one spot is truly up for grabs.

“Theoretically, no. Practically, that is what it is,” she said. “But you never know what is happening, so we can’t really say that.

“If it would be today the time that we would decide, yes, you’re right, I would have those and we would just discuss the sixth spot. And I would see the situation in three weeks and I hope it will be the same. But you never know.”

The pressure will weigh heavily on the 10 young women invited to attend the camp.

Shayla Worley, who’s likely to compete with Ivana Hong and Jana Bieger for that last spot, said she’s always nervous before competitions. She expects to be especially anxious during her last shot at an Olympic berth.

“When camp gets here, it’s going to be so nerve-racking,” said Worley, who’s battling a disk problem in her back.

“I don’t even know what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be crazy.”

For Karolyi, that’s a good thing.

“You know what, they have to be able to handle the pressure. Who cannot handle the pressure has no place in this team,” she said.

“So that’s exactly why in the selection process we put certain tests and tests and permanent verifications to find out who are the strongest ones mentally. Because physically you can be fantastic and have a good routine and good start value, but if you’re shaky when the pressure is on, you cannot help the team.”

The team will be good. Johnson is exceptional on the beam, vault and floor exercise. Liukin’s uneven bars routine may be the most difficult in the world with a 7.7 start value, and it shows off her lithe frame and flexibility.

Memmel’s bars routines are excellent and she’s solid on beam and floor. Sacramone is a world-class vaulter. Peszek can help in several areas; Bieger could help on bars.

Bela Karolyi suggested this team might be the best ever, but Martha Karolyi was hesitant to agree.

“I think we will be an extremely strong Olympic team,” she said. “I don’t like to compare.”

If you don’t have a team yet, you can’t compare. It’s up to Karolyi to live up to the trust she has been given and make all the right choices.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.