Since his comeback he captured both the Pacific Rim Championships and American Cup all-around titles.
An Ill-Timed Injury Keeps Him Out of Beijing:
Hamm was well on his way to winning his fourth national title this year, but had to withdraw from Nationals with a broken bone in his hand. He had surgery and was confirmed for the Olympic team after showing an 80 percent recovery at the final training camp. One week later, however, Hamm withdrew from the team saying he had injured his shoulder as well while trying to regain his skills in such a short amount of time.Cool Skills:
Hamm has performed a layout double-double on floor (two flips with two twists), three reverse hecht release moves in combination on high bar, and a Tsukahara vault with 2.5 twists.Controversial Gold:
At the 2004 Olympics, Paul Hamm won the all-around title in dramatic fashion after falling on vault. This win was disputed, however, as it was later determined that South Korean bronze medalist Yang Tae-Young was incorrectly deducted by .1 of a point for his parallel bars routine. The .1 addition to Tae-Young's score would have placed him first.The Court of Arbitration for Sport eventually ruled that Hamm would keep the gold medal, since the competition had ended before the South Korean delegation brought the scoring error to the attention of gymnastics officials. More on the controversy.
Personal Info:
Hamm was born on September 24, 1982 in Washburn, WI, and now lives in Columbus, OH. His parents are Sandy and Cecily Hamm, and his twin brother Morgan has competed on two Olympic teams with Paul (2000 & 2004). Hamm’s older sister Betsy was also a gymnast, competing for Iowa State University.Hamm graduated from The Ohio State University in 2007, with a major in accounting. He now trains at Ohio State under coaches Miles Avery, Arnold Kventenadze, and Doug Stibel.
Hamm’s Favorites:
- Outside Hobbies: tennis, cards and chess
- City: Sydney, Australia
- Food: Chinese cashew chicken
- Sports Team: Green Bay Packers
Gymnastics Results:
International:- 2008 Pacific Rim Championships: 1st team; 1st all-around; 2nd floor; 1st pommel horse; 5th rings; 1st parallel bars (tie); 3rd high bar
- 2008 Tyson American Cup: 1st all-around; 1st floor; 3rd rings; 2nd vault; 1st parallel bars; 1st high bar
- 2004 Olympic Games: 2nd team; 1st all-around; 2nd high bar
- 2004 Pacific Alliance Championships: 1st team; 1st all-around; 2nd floor; 3rd pommel horse (tie); 1st vault; 3rd parallel bars; 1st high bar
- 2004 Visa American Cup: 3rd all-around; 2nd rings; 3rd vault (tie); 3rd parallel bars
- 2003 World Championships: 2nd team; 1st all-around; 1st floor (tie)
- 2002 Individual Event World Championships: 3rd floor
- 2002 Pacific Alliance Championships: 1st team; 1st all-around; 3rd floor; 1st vault; 1st high bar (tie)
- 2002 Visa American Cup: 2nd all-around
- 2001 World Championships: 2nd team; 7th all-around
- 2000 Olympic Games: 5th team
- 1999 Pontiac International Team Championships: 1st team; 1st all-around
- 2007 Visa Championships (US Nationals): 1st floor
- 2004 Visa Championships (US Nationals): 1st all-around; 1st floor; 2nd pommel horse; 2nd parallel bars (tie); 1st high bar
- 2003 US Nationals: 1st all-around; 2nd floor; 1st pommel horse; 2nd parallel bars (tie)
- 2002 US Nationals: 1st all-around; 2nd floor; 1st pommel horse; 1st vault; 3rd parallel bars
- 2000 John Hancock US Nationals: 3rd all-around
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