U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics

Six young women (three are 16 years old) will represent the United States in the gymnastics competition in Beijing. They are:

Shawn Johnson, West Des Moines, Iowa, age: 16

Nastia Liukin, Parker, Texas, age: 18

Chellsie Memmel, West Allis, Wisc., age: 20

Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, age: 16

Alicia Sacramone, Winchester, Mass., age: 20

Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., age: 16

Liang Chow is head coach of the U.S. team. The team’s three replacement gymnasts are Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong and Corrie Lothrop. None of the team members have competed in the Olympics before, but they have plenty of medals that earned them a spot on the team.

Johnson (pictured) helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2007 World Championships, according to the USA Gymnastics website. She also won the all-around finals there, joining an elite group of three other Americans who have won that honor (one of whom is teammate Memmel). Johnson also won gold there for her floor exercise.

Liukin won gold at last year’s World Championships on the balance beam and was second on uneven bars. She has won nine world medals in the last three years, according to USA Today. In 2005 Memmel became the first U.S. woman since 1994 to win all-around gold at the World Championships. That year she also won second in uneven bars and balance beam.

Peszek was part of the team that won last year’s World Championships and the Pan American Games. Sacramone won silver twice at the ‘06 World Championships in team and vault, and she took the gold on floor exercises at the 2005 world competition. Sloan was also a member of the 2007 gold-winning team at the World Championships.

On the trampoline, America’s female repesentative is Erin Blanchard. 

No Americans qualified to compete in rhythmic gymnastics at the games.

The women will compete on the balance beam, floor, uneven bars, vault, individual all-around and team. For more about the history of gymnastics at the Olympics (it started in 1896), go to the official Beijing games Web site or the official Olympic site.