Barring something major, we knew Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Paul Hamm would do well at the American Cup.
It was easy to be less sure of Samantha Peszek, fifth at the 2007 Cup preliminaries, who also overcame a 10th place finish on day one at the 2007 U.S. Championships to make the World team and become the preeminent of the U.S.’s bubble girls for a spot on this summer’s Olympic team.
Peszek helped her Olympic cause a lot this weekend. And no routine punctuated it better than her beam set, a 16.1 effort that earned her a new title as a “beamer” from Marta Karolyi.
Samantha Peszek, 2008 American Cup, Balance Beam:
That title is probably more important than the one Peszek was competing for Saturday. Alicia Sacramone had her breakout beam moment at the 2007 World Championships, when she hit solid routines both days and proved she could be an asset to team USA on more than just vault and floor. Those happen to be Peszek’s best events as well, and she happened to have a similar day Saturday.
As a gymnast, Peszek is a little Sacramone, a little Vanessa Atler, a little Amanda Borden rolled into one. And she’s only getting better. At the Cup, she also showed a new floor routine which much improved music.
Samantha Peszek, 2008 American Cup, Floor Exercise:
Samantha Peszek, 2008 Olympian? Could happen.