GYMNASTICS Americans second after first two events

XATHENS, Greece -- The American gymnasts breezed through the first two events of qualifying, looking every bit the defending world champions and seeming like a pretty good bet for Olympic gold, too.
But there are four events, not two. And fortunately for the Americans, the gold medal is given out on the second day, not the first.
"They just have to calm down and get it where they need to be," coach Kelli Hill said Sunday after the United States blew a 0.99-point lead over its final two events, winding up more than a half-point behind defending Olympic champion Romania.
The Romanians finished with 152.436 points while the Americans scored 151.848. China, another medal favorite, was third with 151.085 points. Russia, Ukraine, France, Spain and Australia also qualified for Tuesday night's final, where everybody gets to start again from scratch.
"Going into the finals wipes the slate clean," U.S. captain Mohini Bhardwaj said.
If they have any doubts about how to regroup, all they need to do is ask Carly Patterson. Expected to challenge Russian Svetlana Khorkina for the all-around gold and all the riches it brings, Patterson arrived in Athens as something of a question mark after uncharacteristic struggles at the Olympic trials.
But she was simply dazzling Sunday, not scoring anything below a 9.5 on her way to the highest individual mark of 38.337 points. She also quieted the naysayers who wondered about her psyche after two falls off the balance beam at trials, doing a near-perfect routine that earned her a 9.725 and qualified her for the event final.
Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool both stepped out of bounds on floor, normally one of the team's stronger events. It wasn't the only problem. Bhardwaj and Hatch are on the team largely because they're vault specialists, routinely earning marks of 9.5 or above on the United States' weakest event. But on Sunday, neither even scored a 9.4 and Bhardwaj's mark had to be tossed out because it was the lowest of the five. Hatch still made it to next week's event finals thanks to a good second vault that didn't count in the team score. Joining Hatch and Patterson in the event finals are Bhardwaj (floor); Courtney Kupets (beam and uneven bars); and Humphrey (uneven bars). Kupets, who shares the national title with Patterson, also qualified for the all-around final.
Associated Press