Any chance for the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team to compete for a medal at this year’s Beijing Olympics rest on a plate and nine screws that were inserted in Paul Hamm’s right hand last Tuesday.
The defending Olympic all-round gold medalist broke his fourth metacarpal – the bone connecting the ring finger to the wrist – during the final seconds of his parallel bars routine last week at the U.S. Championships in Houston. He has been working out since the surgery, but will not be able to participate in a full practice for at least five weeks, keeping him out of the U.S. Olympic Trials starting June 19 in Philadelphia.
“It’s not a good thing to be hurt and not compete at the trials,” Hamm said yesterday while in New York promoting the charity Right To Play’s Red Ball Child Play. “I’m doing what I can to make the transition back [to competition] as easy as possible.”
For Hamm, that means being ahead of the rehab schedule set by his surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Lubbers. Two days after the surgery, Hamm took off his bandages and made a fist. He’s now going through ultrasonic stimulation and wearing a custom-made splint to try to get back on gymnastics equipment as soon as possible.
“If my hand gets healthy after five weeks, than I’d say I would be about 80 percent in Beijing,” Hamm said of the games set to start on Aug. 8, 10 weeks away. “If I have some type of setback and it takes six or seven weeks, then it would be very, very difficult.”
After becoming the first U.S. men’s gymnast to win to the all-around gold medal, leading his team to a silver medal in Athens in 2004, Hamm, along with twin brother and fellow teammate Morgan, decided to leave gymnastics and enroll at Ohio State University.
The U.S. team then slumped, finishing 13th at the 2006 World Championships and fourth in ’07.
“I think it’s a huge deal to have Paul on this team,” Morgan said. “When we weren’t competing, there weren’t any guys to step up and fill our roles. But both of us bring experience, and if we make the team, we can give them a lot of confidence.”
Making the team for Paul just means proving to the U.S. Olympic committee he is healthy. For Morgan, the upcoming trials will be important to secure his spot on the six-man squad.
In Houston, Morgan finished first in the floor routine and third in the vault and the high bar. He is hopeful he’ll continue his success and make the team as an event specialist, but doesn’t shy away from the reality of the competition to face them in Beijing.
“I’ll be realistic; we have a pretty low chance to win the team gold,” Morgan said. “In order for us to win, China would have to have an off day and we’d have to be outstanding.”
And to be outstanding, Paul Hamm is going to have to be healthy.
“There’s a risk-reward game, to make sure I don’t push too hard [to come back],” Hamm continued. “But if I don’t push enough, I’m not going to be out on the Olympic floor.”
bcyrgalis@nypost.com