U.S. Olympic Men’s Gymnastics Team

The U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team suffered a blow on July 28 when heavy hitter Paul Hamm officially resigned from the team because of he had not fully recovered from a broken hand. Hamm is the reigning gold-medalist in the men’s all-around competition from 2004. Hamm was replaced by Raj Bhavsar of Houston.

Things got worse just days before the Games when Hamm’s twin brother Morgan was forced out with an ankle injury, further damaging U.S. chances.

The Chinese team is considered the odds-on favorite in men’s gymnastics at this year’s Olympic games. America’s team won the silver medal four years ago in Athens. The U.S. team’s coach is Kevin Mazeika of Houston, and the team captain will be Kevin Tan.

The team will compete in eight categories: floor exercises, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings, vault, individual all-around and team. The members of the team are:

Raj Bhavsar (Houston)

Joseph Hagerty (Albuquerque, N.M.)

Jonathan Horton (Houston)

Justin Spring (Burke, Va.)

Kevin Tan (Fremont, Calif.)

Morgan Hamm (Waukesha, Wisc.)

To learn more about the artistry and past of Olympics gymnastics competition, check the official Beijing games site. To see pictures of the American competitors, as well as all the American Olympic athletes, go to the TeamUSA.org site. More details about the American gymnastics team is at the USA Gymnastics site.