SAN JOSE, Calif. - The United States has its team for the world championships. And, as expected, Olympic champion Paul Hamm isn't on it.
National champion David Durante and runner-up Guillermo Alvarez lead the six-man team, which must finish in the top 12 at worlds next month to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Also making the squad were Sasha Artemev, the world bronze medalist on pommel horse; Sean Golden; Jonathan Horton; and Kevin Tan.
Sho Nakamori, who finished a surprising third in the all-around at nationals, will be the alternate.
The selection committee met for about 8 hours and put together 18 possible teams, crunching the numbers in a variety of ways to see what their best possible scoring combination was.
Hamm was included on many of those teams, but in the end, he was left off because he is only ready to compete on floor and pommel horse, which would put too much of a burden on the other five gymnasts.
"We wanted to see if there was any way we could use his experience," national team coordinator Ron Brant said. "He told us he was willing. We appreciated that. I thought that was very good of him and his coach (Mile Avery)."
The U.S. men had a dismal showing at world's last year, finishing 13th. They must move up at least one spot to earn a trip to Beijing. While having an Olympic champion on the roster would certainly be a boost for the Americans' chances, Hamm conceded he never expected to be in the mix.
"At this point, I'm not really ready to hop on a plane and compete on the world stage," Hamm, a Waukesha, Wis., native said Saturday. "It wouldn't make sense."
Hamm and his brother, Morgan, each competed on the floor and pommel horse at nationals in this, their first competition since Paul won all-around gold at the Athens Olympics three years ago. They're still perfecting the other four routines, with the hope of having them ready by the end of the year.
Paul Hamm won the gold medal in the floor exercise with a pair of strong routines that showed how good he can be, even at this early stage in his comeback. Morgan Hamm slightly injured his ankle on floor in the opening round Wednesday and didn't compete in that event Friday. But he put together a solid routine on horse the second day after struggling in the first round.
"This was a good stepping stone," Paul Hamm said. "I actually feel better than I would have imagined."
Brant said he feels good about the team the selection committee put together.
It includes event specialists Tan (rings, pommel horse) and Golden (vault, rings and floor), along with the new national champion, Durante, and Artemev, who won nationals in 2006.
Horton also made it despite a poor showing at nationals. He finished sixth, though his win at a meet with Russia and Ukraine and other strong meets before this week sealed his spot.
"When you first look at him, you might have said 'No,' but you look at some of the other numbers and it's much better," Brant said.
Golden's name on the team was probably the biggest surprise, along with the absence of David Sender, who finished fifth in the all-around and has international experience. But Golden finished first on vault, second on rings and fourth on floor -- behind Paul Hamm and Justin Spring -- and his scores in those events made him a better fit for the team, Brant said.
"We didn't think Golden would be on the same team with Kevin Tan," Brant said. "But he brings too much to the table. We've got to have him there."
Brant said Spring would have been on the team had he not shredded his knee on a vault landing, an injury expected to keep him out six to 10 months.
