Spring makes his case for Games

PHILADELPHIA | Seemingly every step of the way the last 2 1/2 years, the setbacks would pile up for Justin Spring. A torn shoulder muscle that limited him two years ago. Reconstructive right knee surgery last summer. A severely sprained left ankle April 23. Agonizing back spasms that sent him to the emergency room two weeks ago.

It may all be worth it today.

Following a fine performance at the gymnastics trials Saturday at Wachovia Center, Spring could be named to his first Olympic team when the selection committee reveals its six-person roster this afternoon.

Spring, the 24-year old native of Burke in Fairfax County, made a convincing case for his inclusion with solid finishes in the parallel bars, the vault and the high bar plus a successful return to the floor exercise.

“For everything he’s gone through, this was amazing,” said his coach, Jon Valdez, his eyes welling. “We kept telling him, ’Something good is going to come your way,’ and then, boom, something else would come up. To see him persevere and not give up, I’m so completely happy for him. He did everything he could and he has no regrets.”

Trials all-around winner Jonathan Horton and reigning Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm, who did not compete because of a broken hand, were named to the team moments after the competition. With 90.75 points, Horton won the two-city, four-part event that totaled the scores from the national championships last month (40 percent) with two scores from the trials (60 percent).

Joseph Hagerty finished second (89.94 points) as the only double event winner, followed by Raj Bhavsar (89.86).

Spring, whose charisma made him a crowd favorite, participated in five events. He finished first in the parallel bars, second in vault and third in the high bar. And Saturday, he had the second best score in the floor exercise. His ankle injury kept him out of that event at nationals.

“I went 10-for-10, and that’s pretty good,” he said. “I can clean some things up, but I’m definitely in the refinement stage. I’m on track. I know I’m always the injured kid coming back. I definitely wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but I put it all out there.”

The committee will have several tough decisions. All but one of the 15 gymnasts invited to the trials has Olympic and/or World Championship experience. Horton and Hamm are booked for Beijing and the committee has to debate among Morgan Hamm (high bar and pommel horse), Alex Artemev (pommel horse), Kevin Tan (rings) and whether to include team leader David Durante and the injured David Senden (last month’s national champion).

Paul Hamm was surprised to be named right after the trials.

“I found out when you did,” he said. “I thought I would maybe hear [Sunday] at some point, but it was interesting. I was caught off guard. I was hoping the committee would give me a chance.”

Coming to Philadelphia, Spring considered his chances of making the team minimal. That changed Thursday when he posted the top score of the night in the parallel bars and the second-best marks in floor, vault and high bar. He escaped the competition score but otherwise unscathed.

“I think I’m over everything,” he said. “I had my ups and downs, but in the closest meet before Beijing, I hit every routine out there, so I hope [health] is not a question in their minds.”

Asked what he would tell the committee, Spring said: “My gymnastics stands out. It’s high risk, high reward. Take a risk, and put me on the team.”

While Spring said he won’t lose sleep worrying about his fate, the same isn’t true for Valdez.

“It might be a little nerve-wracking, but the real nerve-wracking part is over,” he said. “You never know what the committee will do because there are so many possibilities.”

While Spring hopes to get the call for Beijing, another local gymnast will look toward 2012. Tim McNeill, the Cal senior-to-be from Falls Church, was the youngest competitor (22) and finished seventh in the all-around.

“It was a thrill to be a part of it,” he said. “I can take a lot from this experience when I’m training for 2012.”