Quick-healing Artemev wins

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sasha Artemev capped his faster-than-expected comeback by winning the U.S. gymnastics title Friday night – a surprise to pretty much everyone in the sport, including himself.

Still rehabilitating from an extensive shoulder injury 18 months ago, the 20-year-old son of a former Soviet gymnast went 6 for 6 in the finals to win easily, with 180.35 points to 179.3 for runner-up Jonathan Horton.

Artemev’s comeback was easily the best news on a rough week for the men’s team at the Visa Championships. All the favorites – Horton, David Sender and David Durante – struggled, making the absence of Olympic champion Paul Hamm and his brother, Morgan, that much more glaring.

The Hamms may come back for 2008. If they do, they’ll likely have a worthy teammate in Artemev.

He has long been considered one of the top up-and-comers in this sport, but he never quite lived up to his potential. When he extensively dislocated his shoulder early in 2005, his progress came to a halt.

It was only a week ago that he decided he was strong enough to pull off a vault, allowing him to compete in the all-around at nationals. He said he was as surprised as anyone to find himself in the lead after Wednesday’s preliminaries.

He got better in the finals, and closed it on vault – a Yurchenko double-full that scored a 15.9 – to hang onto the wide lead he built over Guillermo Alvarez. When he cemented his feet into the mat, he knew he had it. He pumped his fists, blew a kiss to the crowd and slapped hands with his dad.

Earlier, Horton put a bit of pressure on Artemev with a spectacular high-bar routine.