Spring Tears Ligament, Is Left Off Men's Team

SAN JOSE, Aug. 18 -- After constructing 18 possible teams during nine hours of deliberation Saturday, USA Gymnastics settled on a men's world championship team consisting of Guillermo Alvarez, Alexander Artemev, David Durante, Sean Golden, Jonathan Horton and Kevin Tan. Stanford senior Sho Nakamori will accompany the team to Stuttgart, Germany, next month as an alternate.

Noticeably absent from the squad was Justin Spring, from Burke. Spring landed awkwardly on his knee after a vault Friday night, and he learned Saturday morning that he had suffered an acute tear of his anterior cruciate ligament and a slight bone bruise. He expects to have surgery within a few weeks, once the swelling in his knee diminishes.

Spring said doctors have told him that, in a best-case scenario, he could rehabilitate his injury in as little as four or five months. Spring sat next to his girlfriend and watched the women's finals Saturday night from the bleachers at HP Pavilion. He felt no pain, he said, and he hopes to return to competition in February. An assistant gymnastics coach at Illinois, Spring plans to build upper body strength and focus on his ring and high bar routines while he recovers.

"My plan was to compete in the all-around at the Olympics in 2008, and that's still the plan," Spring said. "That's going to be my year. This is a setback, for sure. But I'm still going to have time. This might even be able to help me make a few events stronger."

Until his injury, Spring was a virtual lock to compete on a world championship team that will now feature diminished star power. Paul and Morgan Hamm, who are just beginning a comeback after a three-year break from the sport, were left off the world championship team because they are ready to compete in just two of the six events. Along with Spring, they will root for the their teammates to place in the top 12 to qualify the United States to bring a full six-man team to the 2008 Olympics.

Women's Team Announced

USA Gymnastics also announced the women's team for the world championships late Saturday night. The United States will take seven gymnasts to Stuttgart: Shawn Johnson, Shayla Worley, Nastia Liukin, Ivana Hong, Bridget Sloan, Samantha Peszek and Alicia Sacramone. Coaches designate six competitors and one alternate after a training camp in Texas this week.

The announcement capped a good night for Liukin, the two-time defending all-around champion here.

Liukin had a solid four routines in the finals to propel herself to a third place all-around finish behind Johnson and Worley. She also won a gold medal on the uneven bars.

She entered this meet rehabbing knee and ankle injuries, and she landed awkwardly on a dismount in the preliminary round and hurt her back. She said she had minimal pain Saturday night.

"It started out rough," Liukin said. "I really haven't had enough time to perfect my routines on vault and floor. That's not an excuse, but I just needed more time."