ST. PAUL, Minn. -- First of all, we might as well get the negative part out of the way:
-- Alicia Sacramone: Fall on floor. Out of bounds on floor.
-- Rebecca Bross: Fall on bars. Two falls on beam.
-- McKayla Maroney: Fall on floor. Fall on beam. Intermediate swing on bars.
-- Gabrielle Douglas: Fall on floor. Three falls on beam.
-- Mackenzie Caquatto: Fall on beam.
-- Hallie Mossett: Fall on vault.
-- Casey Jo Magee: Fall on beam.
-- Bridgette Caquatto: Fall on beam. Intermediate swing on bars.
-- Sabrina Vega: Fall on bars.
-- Jessica Howe: Fall on bars.
Let's call the preliminary round of the U.S. Championships like it was: A splatfest. An embarrassing display of non-mastery of diffculty. After rather successful training sessions that looked at times like the routines were being done in a competition, Thursday night we had a competition that looked like a bad day of training.
"Thank goodness it wasn't Worlds" is a thought that comes to mind. The top three, sure, looked fairly strong -- or in any case, their sins were minor compared to everyone else's (when asked about Jordyn Wieber's day, for example, John Geddert said, "I'm pleased with 50 percent of her performance.")
Indeeed, at the pinnacle after this mistake-filled night one is Wieber, whose only errors were some nerves on balance beam and a rather off bar routine that she made work simply because she is that talented.
But the fact remains, this wasn't Worlds. This was the first night of two at the U.S. Championships, in other words the beginning of a long road. And yes, it was rough. However, the U.S. team has a good amount of time to fix its mistakes before Worlds. These mistakes, numerous as they might have been, are fixable.
That at least is one conclusion that can be drawn from tonight's competition.
The Gymnastics Examiner will be in St. Paul, Minn. this week for the 2011 U.S. Championships. Please check here for quick hits, results, plenty of photos and impressions from podium training and media day. Follow it all on Facebook or Twitter, or click the "Subscribe" button above to receive the latest gymnastics news and results via e-mail.
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