Four women's Olympic gymnastics berths are still up for grabs

PHILADELPHIA — A few weeks ago, gymnast Chellsie Memmel bought herself a Coach purse and an iPod in honor of the 20th birthday she celebrated Monday.
What Memmel really wanted was an automatic Olympic berth from the U.S. Olympic trials that concluded Sunday. But only the top two all-arounders were guaranteed spots, and they went to champion Shawn Johnson and runner-up Nastia Liukin.
"I was always hoping," Memmel said Monday.
Memmel and nine others will vie for the four remaining openings at a selection camp July 16-20 near Houston. Memmel of West Allis, Wis., was third in all-around at the trials, followed by Samantha Peszek of McCordsville, Ind. Both are front-runners to make the team, as is Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., one of the country's best on vault and floor exercise.
"The final selection camp is Olympic trials," Memmel said.

Memmel said she and her coach, father Andy, set up a training plan to peak at the right time as she rebounded from career-threatening shoulder surgery two years ago. "It wasn't (national) championships," she said. "It isn't trials. It will be the final selection camp."
The final team slot is a toss-up, but Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla., built a strong case in the finals. "It's definitely close," she said. Bieger, a 2006 world silver medalist in all-around, will be up against 2007 world team members Ivana Hong and Shayla Worley and alternate Bridget Sloan.
It was up to women's team coordinator Martha Karolyi to decide if she wanted to guarantee more spots at the trials, and Karolyi said no way. "Probably if it would be up to me, I wouldn't like to name nobody just because I like to select the team at a closer date because that shows us what kind of competition shape they are (in) just before we will leave for the Games," Karolyi said late Sunday.
USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny was asked if calling the event "trials" was misleading to fans since an Olympic team wasn't named. "No," Penny said. "That's what happened (Sunday). Two athletes were named based on their performance."
The federation used the same format for the 2004 Games.
Soccer team named:
The U.S. women's soccer team's slow changing of the guard continued Monday when coach Pia Sundhage named her 18-player Olympic roster. Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone, Aly Wagner and Kate Markgraf are the most experienced players on the roster, all with more than 100 national team appearances. They are among the nine players on the team who won a gold medal in the 2004 Games.
Defender Rachel Buehler, midfielder Tobin Heath and forward Amy Rodriguez, all of whom had scant senior-level international experience before Sundhage took charge, will play in their first major international tournament.
Defender Heather Mitts, who missed the World Cup with a knee injury, is the only other player on the team who did not make the trip to China last year.
Contributing: Olivia Branco and Beau Dure