Gymnastics Olympic Trials 2012: What's in the Water After Day 1?

Five falls, three rounds. Day one of the US Olympic Gymnastic trials have just finished, and it's clear that there is tension in the gym. Reigning Olympic champions along with first time trial competitors are falling on dismounts, wobbling on the beam and stepping out of bounds on floor.

The pressure on these athletes is tremendous. Only the winner is automatically granted a trip to London; the other four are individually chosen by one powerful individual, Marta Karolyi. You can place in the top five and be forced to watch the Olympics from home.

That's not cruel—it's gymnastics.

The two-time National Champion and reining World Champion Jordan Weiber executed three clean routines on day one of the Championship. She's ready for London and is leading at the trials. "I have to take it one at a time, one routine at a time," said Weiber in an interview with NBC.

All-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin, who has only been training seriously for the last three months, failed to cleanly execute her beam routine. Liukin was sidelined with a shoulder injury that delayed her comeback preparation, which has hurt her preparation and confidence in her routines.

And after tonight's performance, Liukin's chances of becoming a two-time Olympian could be over.

She's a bar specialist and with a major fault at both the US Nationals and the Olympic Trials: she does not appear to be the dependable and consistent athlete she once was. Although Liukin has drastically improved since the Visa Championships less than a month ago, whether she's ready to compete at the Olympics in thirty days is up to Karolyi to decide.

Liukin is sitting in 13th place going into Sunday's final.

Another Olympic gold medalist, Alicia Sacramone, had a good night at the trials. A specialist on vault, Sacramone is in 11th place and less than five points out of first. Last October, she injured her right Achilles' tendon at the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Tokyo, but says it's healed. On vault, however, Sacramone continues to land with her wrapped foot behind rather than landing with her feet in parallel.

Kyla Ross, a first-time Olympic Trials participant, has performed well all season and is looking like a strong contender for the US Olympic team. She's sitting in fourth place after the first three rounds, but after falling on the landing of her vault—she didn't get enough bounce and was short on rotation—Ross will have to complete three nearly perfect routines on Sunday's final to make the Olympic team.

In second position by only 0.3, is Gabby Douglas, whose only noticeable mistake tonight was a small step on the vault that resulted in a respectable score of 15.80. Douglas is a genuine performer. Her smiles are not choreographed, unlike those of her competitors. If Douglas continues to execute routines the same way as today, she should make her first Olympic team.

In fourth place is Elizabeth Price, who finished fifth at the Visa Championship. Price scored a 14.900 on floor with a nearly flawless routine, comprised of unusually large jumps. Unlike many of her other competitors, she has not fallen or made any major errors in any of today's events.

Price is turning out to be the all-round gymnastics team USA needs at the Olympics if they want to beat the Chinese and the Russians.

The 2012 Olympic Gymnastics Trials are currently underway in San Jose, California. 15 girls—now 14 after Olympian Bridget Sloan had to withdraw from the competition because of a sprained elbow—compete for five positions. Elizabeth Price, Kennedy Baker, Brenna Dowell, Sarah Finnegan and Kyla Ross are five new faces at the Olympic trials.

The trials continue on Sunday, July 1st on NBC.