Young Finishes Sixth At U.S. Olympic Trials

OU assistant coach Guard Young took another huge step in what is probably his last shot at making the U.S.A. Olympic team with a solid all-around score of 56.350 on Saturday during the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Anaheim, Calif. inside Arrowhead Pond. Young finished sixth in the all-around for the trials among the 17 competitors fighting for the six available spots on the team that will represent the U.S. at the Summer Olympics in Athens.

Paul Hamm won the competition and three other gymnasts solidified their spots on the Olympic Team. Two spots still remain in addition to two more alternate positions. Young is one of seven athletes that will report to a training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from July 11-18 that will allow the Olympic Selection Committee to finalize the team.

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Two other gymnasts in Saturday's competition, Jason Gatson and Blaine Wilson were in a similar position as Young as they missed the U.S. Championships due to injury. Those three gymnasts total scores were counted at the trials. The rest of the field's final score at the trials came from 40 percent of their final tally at the U.S. Championships and 60 percent from this weekend's performances. After the complicated formula finalized the field's scores, Young remained in sixth place with a 56.100. That total came after Thursday's and Saturday's scores were averaged. Gatson and Wilson will also participate in the training camp.

“I am impressed with the decision to bring that many gymnasts to the training camp,” said Young. “That many guys competing for the final spots will only make the Olympic Team in Athens that much stronger. I am happy with my performance tonight. There is so much out of my control at the trials with the scores and formulas. So I just did what I could control and that was hit my routines and I hit a lot of them this weekend.”

Young's final tally was keyed by his highest individual event score of the night, a 9.70 on the floor which was the third best of the night on the apparatus. That performance was one of his four top-five finishes on the six individual events during Saturday's competition.

Young's other top-five finishes took place on the still rings, vault and parallel bars. His 9.600 on vault, like his floor routine, was also the third best of the finals. In addition, Young placed fifth on the still rings with a 9.500 and fourth on the parallel bars after posting a 9.575. The assistant coach also put up a solid scores on the pommel horse (9.35) and only struggled on his first event, the high bar in which he scored a 8.625

“He had a great night and did exactly what he had to do,” said Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams, who has been training Young for the competition. “He performed well across the board and especially on the floor and the vault, which is exactly what the committee is looking for. We are very pleased with his effort overall in the past two days and feel honored to be a part of the training selection team.”

Young improved upon his eighth place finish during the preliminaries on Thursday when he totaled a 55.850.

A rebroadcast of Saturday's finals will be aired by NBC Sports on July 3, check local listings for times.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Young Finishes Sixth At U.S. Olympic Trials

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