TOKYO (AP) ? The Russians came early. The South Koreans stuck around. The Chinese even brought their video cameras.
Welcome to podium training, the meet within the meet at the world gymnastics championships. Part dress rehearsal, part competition, it won?t win a team a medal. But for those off their games, especially young gymnasts who haven?t built up a reputation yet, it can cost them dearly.
?It?s very important the impression that you make,? national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said Tuesday. ?You have to go out there with confidence and be commanding and do the routines in good condition, what you are preparing. They know that. It?s nothing that?s a surprise at the last minute. Considering we have so many young girls, they handled themselves well.?
Better than most, that?s for sure.
Defending champion Russia spent almost as much time on the ground Tuesday as it did on the equipment. China was dazzling on balance beam and uneven bars, not so much on floor exercise and vault. And the Japanese, who hope to push for a medal after finishing fifth last year? It wasn?t their best day, but they didn?t take themselves out of the running, either.
Prelims begin Friday, and the U.S. women compete Saturday.
?I think this is one of our best podium training for many years, especially since we have a very young group,? said Liang Chow, Gabby Douglas? coach. ?I did not expect anything. But I feel we have a very strong team. This is a very strong group, and I think we can make some damage here.?
Podium training is the only chance gymnasts have to work on the competition floor before the event begins, and it?s more than just a fancy term for practice session. The equipment is springier because it?s 3 feet off the floor, the arena is bigger than those cramped training halls and the lights are, of course, brighter.
As if that?s not daunting enough, the judges are watching every move and handicapping the field.
?When you think about it like that, it?s a lot of pressure. But you can?t. You can?t do that,? American McKayla Maroney said. ?You?ve just got to go do your routines because that?s what you?re here for and that?s what you?ve trained your whole life for. It really shouldn?t be any pressure because that?s why you?re here. You?re here to compete.?
That?s easy to say and much harder to do. Especially for a team as green as the U.S., which hasn?t established a reputation with the judges yet.
Beijing Olympics captain Alicia Sacramone and Aly Raisman are the only Americans who?ve been to worlds before ? and Raisman only last year. U.S. champ Jordyn Wieber knocked off defending world champion Aliya Mustafina at the American Cup in March. But this is her first year in the senior ranks, and the same goes for Douglas, Maroney and Sabrina Vega.
All have competed internationally before, but nothing quite prepares gymnasts for the world stage like, well, worlds.
?I just was talking to the coaches the other day and pointed out exactly that. It?s the whole process. It?s not only the competition,? Karolyi said. ?We have the long training camp before, and changing gyms and traveling and going in one place, going in another place. Regimented training, the number of routines, every routine has to be correct, the mental pressure ? everything. It gives you a totally different education as a gymnast if you ? participate in this kind of training and competition situation.?
The Americans aren?t the only ones who have to grow up in a hurry. Russia returns only three members of last year?s gold-medal squad after losing defending champion Aliya Mustafina to an injury at Europeans. Instead, Russa is counting heavily on 16-year-old Viktoria Komova, the gold medalist at the Youth Olympic Games. Maybe that explains why Komova has been fumbling her way through her routines since arriving in Tokyo.
Romania has only three gymnasts back from last year, though its ?newest? member is triple Olympic gold medalist Catalina Ponor, who has decided ? again ? that retirement is not for her.The Chinese, of all teams, are the grizzled veterans. China has four gymnasts from last year?s third-place team, and Jiang Yuyuan and He Kexin were part of the squad that won gold at the Beijing Olympics.
While any experience gained at this year?s worlds will pay off next year, there?s still a lot at stake in Tokyo. The top eight teams earn spots at next summer?s London Olympics, and the team title comes with serious bragging rights, no small thing in a subjective sport.
So despite their youth, the U.S. athletes did their best imitation of old pros Tuesday.
There was no gawking at the competition. And aside from a few botched landings on floor, Wieber?s struggles with her vault and Douglas? wobbles on balance beam, there were few major mistakes in what was the cleanest session of any of the contenders.
?They?ve taken this very well. Very calm, cool and collected,? Sacramone said. ?We had a couple of rough practices, which is to be expected in first few days, but they?ve been great. I?m so proud of them. I think they?re going to do just fine.?
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