Made you look, right?
The U.S. World team announcement will not be made until later this evening, but this site will let you know as soon as it happens.
In the meantime, here's one last rundown of the gymnasts in contention for Worlds spots, and their strengths and weaknesses.
Jordyn Wieber: The new U.S. all-around champion and favorite to take the women's crown in Tokyo.
- Strengths: Everything! Wieber has an Amanar, high start values and mental toughness. She's a dream for Martha Karolyi.
- Weaknesses: She's not terribly artistic. But her form is still quite good.
McKayla Maroney: The surprise runner up from the U.S. Championships is having a breakout year.
- Strengths: Vault (the best Amanar currently being done in the world) and a high difficulty floor routine.
- Weaknesses: Bars and to some extent beam. Those are unlikely to keep her off this team, however -- and some people think she could match up with Alexandra Raisman for the second U.S. all-around spot.
Alexandra Raisman: Amazing how you go from new kid on the block to seasoned veteran in a matter of 12 months...
- Strengths: Floor and consistency. Raisman is a gymnast you can count on to hit.
- Weaknesses: Bars and form in some places.
Alicia Sacramone: The matriarch of the U.S. team at 23, she has seen it all.
- Strengths: Vault and beam, the only events she's likely to do in Tokyo.
- Weaknesses: Sacramone would still be one of the world's great tumblers if the floor dimensions were two feet wider than they are. And they can't use her on bars, period.
Shawn Johnson: The 2008 Olympic beam champion looks better every time she competes.
- Strengths: Experience, an indomitable spirit, consistency.
- Weaknesses: Low difficulty.
Chellsie Memmel: The surprise comeback story of the year.
- Strengths: Tenacity and toughness. A killer beam routine.
- Weaknesses: Injury prone.
Gabrielle Douglas: Liang Chow's latest protege is loaded with potential.
- Strengths: Powerful and dynamic.
- Weaknesses: Cracks under pressure on beam and floor.
Anna Li: One of the best on the U.S.'s worst event: bars.
- Strengths: Bars. And age, I'd say -- Anna is experienced enough to know that one meet doesn't ruin your life.
- Weaknesses: Inconsistency.
Sabrina Vega: This 16-year-old from New York is elegance personified.
- Strengths: Difficult, charismatic work on beam and floor.
- Weaknesses: Seems unlikely to make a three-up lineup on any event.
Bridget Sloan: The 2009 World champion has rarely surfaced during the past two years.
- Strengths: She's a consistent all-arounder who can be utilized on any event.
- Weaknesses: Possibly out of shape following injury, surgery and a long layoff from competition. Sloan is the biggest unknown of the World team contenders.
Mackenzie Wofford: The first-year senior is a darkhorse World team contender.
- Strengths: Great swing on bars and a huge D-score on beam.
- Weaknesses: It's complicated...Wofford did a stint at WOGA and left the gym dissatisfied with the coaching she was receiving. Flourishing under Valeri Liukin is an indicator of mental toughness, and the fact that Wofford didn't might signal to Martha Karolyi that she isn't able to handle the rigors of World class training and competition. Should that be used against her? No, provided she hits her difficulty under pressure like at the CoverGirl Classic.
Tough decision, isn't it? Here are some of the combinations readers have come up with:
- Wieber, Sacramone, Raisman, Maroney, Li and Sloan (alternate Johnson)
- Wieber, Sacramone, Johnson, Memmel, Maroney, Raisman (alternates Douglas and Vega)
- Wieber, Sacramone, Raisman, Maroney, Sloan, Johnson
- Wieber, Raisman, Sacramone, Maroney, Sloan, Memmel (alternate Li)
- Wieber, Raisman, Sacramone, Maroney, Douglas, Li (alternate Memmel) -- this combination proposed by Dwight Normile of International Gymnast Magazine, and here's his justification
Just for fun, here's the team I would choose: Wieber, Sacramone, Raisman and Maroney are all locks, IMO. Added to that needs to be one bar specialist, and Li is the best choice. The sixth spot is a wildcard. I'd give it to Vega, who is prepared and healthy. She can act as tablesetter in team prelims. Who knows? The international judges might take a shine to her and she might even land in the beam or floor lineup in team finals. Alternate: Douglas, a good backup on vault, bars and floor.
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