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Associated Presshree others lock up spots, but the U.S. committee will wait to choose the final two.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Paul Hamm and Brett McClure earned automatic spots onto the men's Olympic gymnastics team Saturday, and Jason Gatson and Hamm's brother, Morgan, were added by the selection committee.
Another seven gymnasts, including five-time national champion Blaine Wilson, closed out the trials by being chosen to a training squad. They'll fight it out for the final two spots at a camp next month, a decision that adds a little drama to an already harrowing process.
Hamm and McClure finished trials the way they came in after the national championships: ranked first and second in scoring from the four meets - two at nationals, two at trials - that are used to pick the six-man team. The top-two finishes earned them automatic spots.
"I can't even describe it, really," said McClure, who made his first Olympic team. "I'm still kind of in shock. It feels great, and I just can't wait to see who's going to be the rest of the team."
Gatson and Morgan Hamm were awarded their spots after the five-man selection committee met for about two hours, poring over results, statistics and recollections of the past year of training and competition.
The training camp takes place July 11-18 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Joining Wilson there will be Raj Bhavsar, David Durante, Stephen McCain, Todd Thornton, Sean Townsend and Guard Young.
"The selection committee had an incredibly hard time, because we do have the most talented male gymnasts in the world," USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi said.
The men won a silver medal at last year's world championships and are considered a good bet to win their first Olympic team medal since 1984.
Wilson (biceps) and Gatson (back) each missed nationals due to injuries, and the quality of their returns was key to determining the makeup of the team.
Gatson left few doubts, powering through his routines on parallel bars, high bar and rings to earn scores of 9.75, 9.725 and 9.725.
Wilson, whose injury was far more serious, played it conservatively in his return and the scores showed it, with nothing more than 9.525 and a few disconcerting stumbles and bobbles. The committee wasn't impressed enough to commit a spot to him. Wilson felt he did as well as he could, considering he hadn't competed since February, when he tore his left biceps.
"I want to come back, I want to be part of this team," Wilson said. "I'm hoping they see that and know it's only going to get better."
Men's team coordinator Ron Galimore and four others on the committee had the choice of choosing the team after Saturday's meet or waiting until a training camp in July. Instead, they went to Plan C - picking two more after the meet and letting the drama drag out for the rest.
Paul Hamm's status was never in doubt. The reigning world champion and three-time national champion has been a notch above the rest for a couple years. Any questions about him earning a trip to his second Olympics ended about a minute into the meet with his attention-grabbing high-bar routine.
Hamm sailed backward over the bar and caught it three straight times, one of the most difficult moves in the world, and made it look easy. A few more twirls, a perfect dismount and a score of 9.9 showed he is the man to beat.