Sports

Women's gymnastics highlights Sunday's U.S. Olympic trials

Posted: 8:17 AM Jul 2, 2012

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Gabby Douglas has impeccable timing.

The perky 16-year-old upset world champion Jordyn Wieber for the first time Sunday night, winning the Olympic trials and the lone guaranteed spot for the London Games.

Douglas, bolstered by a dazzling uneven bars routine that would make an acrobat sweat, beat Wieber by a mere 0.1 points after finishing a close second at last month's U.S. championship and the first night of trials.

Now she'll wait to see who joins her on what will be the strongest team the Americans have had since 1996, one that will be not just favored but expected to bring home only the second Olympic team gold.

A selection committee will decide the remaining members of the five-woman team, with an announcement expected later Sunday.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Michael Phelps has earned a chance to swim eight Olympic races, rallying to win the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. trials.

Phelps was slow off the blocks and made the turn in sixth place Sunday night. But he caught Tyler McGill on the return lap and surged to the wall to win 51.14 seconds, well off his world-record pace (49.82) but fastest in the world this year.

McGill hung on for the second Olympic spot in 51.32. Ryan Lochte, swimming an event he normally doesn't in major competitions, just missed adding another race to his already busy program. He was third, 33-hundreths behind McGill.

Phelps, who set an Olympic record with eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, is expected to swim the same eight events in London.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Missy Franklin will become the first American female to swim seven events at the Olympics.

The 17-year-old Franklin locked up her fourth individual event with a dominating win in the 200-meter backstroke Sunday night at the U.S. Olympic trials. She touched in 2 minutes, 06.12 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year and nearly 1 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Elizabeth Beisel, who secured the second spot in London at 2:07.58.

Franklin had already earned spots in the 100 and 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. She's also assured of swimming on all three relays.

The 200 back is Franklin's best event. She's the defending world champion and heads to London as the overwhelming favorite in that race.
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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Wallace Spearmon won the 200 meters at the U.S. track trials in 19.82 seconds on Sunday to earn a spot on the Olympic team.

Maurice Mitchell was second in 20:14, and Isiah Young third in 20:16 to round out the U.S. team in the event for the London Games.

Sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay were missing from the field because they decided to pass on the 200 after securing spots on the Olympic team in the 100.

Reigning Olympic 200 bronze medalist Walter Dix didn't run because of a lingering hamstring injury that was apparent in the 100. Dix's only option for making it to London will be as a member of the 400 relay team.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Four years ago, Katie Ledecky had no clue about how to qualify for the Olympics.

Now the 15-year-old distance swimmer is headed to London.

Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle by a whopping 2.09 seconds at the trials Sunday night, making her the youngest member of the U.S. swim team.

She touched in 8 minutes, 19.78 seconds, with Kate Ziegler taking the second spot at 8:21.87 to earn her second Olympic berth. Ledecky broke the trials record of 8:20.81 set by Katie Hoff four years ago.

"I had a lot of confidence going into that race," Ledecky said.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)