Paul Hamm

It’s been nearly eight years since Paul Hamm of Waukesha became the first American gymnast to win all-around men’s gold at the Olympic Games and four years since he last competed anywhere.

While his latest comeback hasn’t been without its challenges, Hamm is ready to take the next step by competing in the Winter Cup Challenge starting Thursday at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Sports Center.

Hamm, 29, plans to compete on four of the six apparatus: floor exercise, pommel horse, vault and parallel bars. He is not yet ready on the high bar and rings following surgery one year ago to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

“Keep in mind I haven’t competed in four years, but I think you’re going to see (the old) Paul Hamm on four events this weekend,” he said in a conference call Tuesday. (read more)

Olympic Champion Paul Hamm is back, and ready to compete for the first time since ’08.

Associated Press

2004 Athens All-Around Olympic Champion Paul Hamm plans to compete at a U.S. men’s ranking meet next month, his first competition since breaking his hand at the 2008 National Championships.

Hamm hopes to earn one of eight spots on the national team available at Winter Cup, Feb. 2 and 4 at the Sports Center in Las Vegas.  Being part of the national team would put him in the pool for international competition and also make him eligible for training funds from USA Gymnastics.

Paul Hamm, the only American man to win the Olympic and world all-around titles, missed the Beijing Olympics after breaking his hand in 2008.  He came out of retirement for a second time in the summer of 2010 but missed last year’s National Championships while he recovered from shoulder surgery. (read more)

Dwight Normile, International Gymnast Magazine

Like many in the sport, I was saddened by the Paul Hamm incident that led to his termination as an assistant coach at Ohio State. It only takes one slip-up in the Internet age, especially when video is involved. So Hamm, whose gymnastics brilliance had always shone brighter because of his humility, was humbled even further.

While I don’t condone his actions, I certainly will not judge him on one night of his life. As a writer, I have covered him since he and his twin, Morgan, dominated the age-group scene. When he showed up at the 2002 U.S. championships in Cleveland, he ran off with the first of three consecutive senior national titles.

At the 2003 Worlds in Anaheim, Hamm performed one of the best routines I’ve ever seen under the circumstances. After China’s Yang Wei had already finished his all-around performance with a solid floor routine, Hamm needed to nail the high bar set that had betrayed him more often than not in the past. That’s what I remember most. He went up and hit the best routine of his life, stuck his dismount, and became the first American male to win a world all-around gold.

“It was just an awesome feeling,” Hamm said at the time. “I was finished, and I finally beat high bar.”

A year later, at the Athens Olympics, he again completed his all-around with a clutch high bar routine. And even though his Olympic all-around title was clouded in controversy because of a scoring error, he carried on as best he could. He did nothing wrong, yet was robbed of the elation that usually comes with being Olympic champion. At his athletic peak, he disappeared from the sport after that.

Hamm, who turns 29 Sept. 24, was the most successful U.S. male gymnast ever, but I’ll always appreciate his demeanor off the apparatus. No matter the situation, he answered questions honestly, respectfully and thoughtfully. He was never too busy, or too full of himself. That’s what impressed me more than anything.

So when I think of Hamm, I will consider the total picture, not just one unfortunate evening. Because all we really learned from his incident with the police is that nobody is perfect. And nobody ever will be.

Paul Hamm was great for gymnastics. He was pivotal to the resurrection of a U.S. men’s program that had nose-dived after its 1984 Olympic team victory. And if his comeback stalls and he never returns to the sport, that’s how I will remember him. (read more)

“The trials and adversities of life will squeeze you under pressure. What ever is rooted inside of your soul, will be released in these times.”
-Arthur J Robinson Jr.

(read more)

TeamUSA.org

Paul Hamm never stopped following gymnastics. Even as a financial trader in Chicago — and presumably retired from active competition — the 2004 Olympic men’s all-around champion kept tabs on who was who and what they were doing on the apparatuses.

Simply put, the sport was never quite out of his system.

“I realized I still wanted to do gymnastics and I didn’t like how my career had ended,” said Hamm, who had to withdraw from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games just days prior due to injuries. “I wanted to compete one more time and try the Olympics.”

So in July 2010, Hamm announced he was returning to the gym so he could end his career on his own terms. And his goal now is to be back on the U.S. Olympic team next summer in London.

This past holiday weekend, Hamm was one of several U.S. champions who was spreading the spirit of the Olympic Movement at the Fair St. Louis. Hamm appeared at the Budweiser Salute to Olympians booth in St. Louis along with fellow gymnast Shannon Miller, aerial skier Shannon Bahrke Happe, speedskater Chris Hedrick, long jumper Bob Beamon, diver Lou Vittuci and soccer player John Carenza.

And it was apparent that his Olympic spirit in St. Louis was high. (read more)