ESPN, HOUSTON — Whenever Paul Hamm mentions Beijing or the Olympics, he’s quick to throw in an “if.”  As in, “If I qualify.” Or, “If I make the team.”  Uh, Paul, have you seen the scores you’ve been putting up since you came back? Not only are the other Americans expecting you to be with them at the Beijing Olympics, most figure you’ll be going as the U.S. champion.

Four years after winning his last national title, Hamm is a heavy favorite to pick up another when the U.S. gymnastics championships begin Thursday night. Never mind that he took 2½ years off after winning the gold medal at the Athens Olympics. He’s routed the competition everywhere he’s gone this year, and most expect more of the same at nationals.

“He’s like the Terminator in this sport. If he hits, it’s not going to be possible to touch him he’s so good,” Jonathan Horton said after Wednesday’s workout on the competition floor. “I always say I don’t go to any competition to finish second. But if I don’t beat Paul, I won’t be upset at all. He’s incredible.”

“Like I’ve been saying, he’s the best guy in the world right now,” said Sasha Artemev, the 2006 U.S. champion and a member of last year’s world championship team. “He’s going to be hard to beat. He doesn’t have a weakness, and there aren’t a lot of gymnasts that have all six events that are as strong as his.”

That Hamm is good is hardly a surprise. He’s the only American man ever to win the world all-around title (2003) or Olympic gold medal (2004). He helped the Americans to the silver in 2004, their first Olympic medal in 20 years, and has five additional medals from the world championships and Olympics. He won three straight U.S. titles from 2002 to 2004.

He beat an international field at the prestigious American Cup, then added the team, all-around, pommel horse and parallel bars titles at Pacific Rim. He scored better than 94 points at both American Cup and Pacific Rim; while scores vary from competition to competition, Yang Wei won the world title last year with 93.675 points.

“I am excited, just to get the whole process under way. It’s always anxiety-filled, so just getting started is a good feeling,” Hamm said. “I get nervous for any competition — these especially because my goal is to come out here and win. It’s stressful, and it’s not easy to do because there are guys coming out, trying to take that away from me. I’m just trying to hold that position.”

But even with that stiff competition, Paul Hamm remains the man to beat.

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