Hamm on U.S. Olympic gymnastics team despite doping warning

INDIANAPOLIS (TICKER) —Morgan Hamm will be heading to Beijing despite his use of a prohibited substance at the recent United States Olympic trials.

Hamm was confirmed as a member of the U.S. men’s gymnastic squad by both USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee on Wednesday.

A member of the U.S.’s silver-medal winning squad at Athens in 2004, Hamm successfully qualified for the team at the Olympic trials, winning the floor exercise. But Hamm later was given a public warning by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for using a prescribed anti-inflammatory medication without prior exemption.

However, both USA Gymnastics and the USOC opted to keep Hamm on the team, stating the doping offense did not affect his chances of making the squad.

“After a review by both USA Gymnastics and the USOC, there is agreement that the public warning Hamm received did not impact his qualification for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team,” president of USA Gymnastics Steve Penny said. “USA Gymnastics evaluated the impact of the ruling against the selection criteria for both participation in the Olympic Trials and ultimately his selection to our men’s Olympic team. After thorough analysis, the men’s Selection Committee determined that USADA’s ruling did not affect either of those decisions.”

“Our review of the process undertaken by USA Gymnastics showed that the approved Olympic selection procedures for men’s gymnastics were followed, and we fully support the findings,” said Steve Roush, chief of sports performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee. “We appreciate USA Gymnastics’ efforts to respect and consider the interests of all of the athletes potentially impacted by this decision.”

This will be the third appearance in the Olympics for Hamm, 25, who also placed in a tie for third in the vault at the Olympic trials.