Injuries rattle U.S. women

As the reigning world champions, the U.S. women were expected to sail into the Olympics gymnastics team final without drama.

But Sunday’s qualifying session was rife with it – starting when Samantha Peszek sprained her ankle during warmups before the squad was due to march onto the floor at Beijing’s National Indoor Stadium.

The hobbled Peszek, scheduled to compete in all four disciplines, could manage only one, joining the similarly sidelined Chellsie Memmel, who sprained an ankle last weekend.

And the last-minute shuffling of the lineup sent jitters through the team. Alicia Sacramone stepped out of bounds during her floor routine. Memmel fell midway through her uneven bars routine, and Nastia Liukin concluded hers by landing flat on her back.

The team’s only rock was its tiniest member, Shawn Johnson, who delivered high marks on floor, vault and beam. She was also first overall, scoring 62.725 points to advance to Friday’s individual all-around final as the favorite for gold.

Karolyi fires at Chinese

Bela Karolyi is doing NBC television commentary for gymnastics, and even as he cheered on the U.S. women from his perch just above where the balance beam is located at the National Indoor Stadium, he also kept simmering over what he believes is China’s “blatant” flouting of the sport’s age rules.

According to the international federation rules, Olympic and world championship competitors must turn 16 during the year they participate. The two Chinese women who have qualified for the individual all-around – Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan – were named in several news reports as having birth dates on provincial registration lists in 1993 and 1994, respectively. According to passport information submitted to become Olympics eligible, they are now 16.

Ivanovic withdraws

The biggest surprise on a dismal first day of Olympic tennis came from Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, who didn’t even play.

The top-seeded Ivanovic withdrew because of inflammation in her right thumb that has bothered her for several weeks. Her decision was announced after play was called for the day with only nine of 45 scheduled matches completed.

Thanou barred

The IOC has barred Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou from the Beijing Games, saying her role in a drug-testing cover-up four years ago in Athens was “a scandalous saga” that had brought the Olympic movement into disrepute.