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Putting together a gymnastics team is a lot like putting together a puzzle. In an Olympic team final, three gymnasts compete on each event and all three scores count.

Using the women's field as an example, say Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin finish 1-2 (in either order) at the Olympic Trials. Liukin's weak event is vault, so she's unlikely to compete on that event in the team final. So you add in Alicia Sacramone, who's a strong vaulter. Now you have three athletes, but Sacramone doesn't compete on bars. So now the U.S. needs a strong bar worker. It's quite a challenge to put together the pieces of a gold-medal contending team.

 "Some people could play some role depending on what will be the team's needs. It will not necessarily be a straight rank," women's national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said. "If some girl is good on two events and exactly on those two events you need help, you need those two."

For the women, the Olympic Trials determine two of the six spots on the U.S. team. The top two finishers, based on Trials scores only, make the team. The balance of the six-member team and three alternates will be determined after a selection camp in Houston in July.

Assuming Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson are locks for the Olympic Team, here's a look at how the rest of the team could fall into place (in alphabetical order). 

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Jana Bieger was the world all-around silver medalist in 2006, but even she is not assured of a spot on the Olympic team.

Jana Bieger
The world runner-up in 2006, Bieger was slowed by injuries in 2007, had a disastrous Nationals and was left off the world championships team. Her mother and coach, Andrea, was an Olympic gymnast for West Germany.

Could make the team because: She had the fourth-best score on bars at Nationals.

Ivana Hong
Hong could have withdrawn from the 2008 Nationals last week because of an ankle injury, but competed nonetheless. She suffered a setback last year when her unique uneven bars routine was frowned upon by the international judges and forced her to start from scratch. Hong was on the 2007 world team, but didn't compete during the team final.

Martha says: "Ivana is mentally tougher and tougher at every single competition. A very good composite to a team, more on opening positions when you want to make a great impression."

Could make the team because: She's a steady performer who could be the lead-off gymnast during the qualifying round.

Chellsie Memmel
Since she missed most of 2007 recovering from shoulder surgery and a foot injury, Memmel had fallen off the gymnastics radar. That is, until this year's Nationals, where she proved herself, again, with a third-place all-around finish.

But it's Memmel's uneven bars routine that is perhaps more important than her all-around performance. Chellsie's routine was credited with a 7.0 difficulty score on Day 2 of Nationals. To keep pace with China, which boasts two athletes with 7.7 difficulty scores, the U.S. desperately needs as many tenths on uneven bars as it can get. Liukin has a 7.7, but thus far, Memmel is the only other American to reach the 7.0 mark.

Martha says: "I saw her three weeks before [Nationals] and her improvements in three weeks were extremely big. She definitely will be a great asset to the U.S. team."

Could make the team because: Uneven bars, competitiveness and she can hit under nearly any circumstance. 

 
Samantha Peszek
Her stock rose with an impressive all-around performance at the American Cup in March and she finished fourth at Nationals. Peszek's a strong vaulter and floor worker and will need to hit her upgraded floor routine in Philadelphia to capitalize her Olympic chances.

Peszek has been rehearsing for this moment for quite a while. In 1996, a tiny Peszek mimicked the routines she was watching at that year's Olympic Trials in her living room, complete with a dismount onto a chair.

"I thought I was so cool because I knew Dominique Moceanu's floor routine," Peszek said.

Could make the team because: She's come on strong this year and has a solid vault.

Alicia Sacramone
A likely Olympic lock, (though if you ask her about it she'll quickly change the subject), Sacramone, 20, has three Worlds under her belt and is the self-described "mother hen" of the U.S. team. She says she's given up training on the uneven bars, but her stated goal is to make an Olympic final in each of the other three events

Martha says: "Alicia is an excellent gymnast, proving herself over and over. She definitely is one of the most important members of the team, being able to help the team with her huge vault score and [her] excellent other events, which are floor and beam."

Should make the team because: Her vaulting ability alone, not to mention her individual medal potential on floor. Sacramone's intangible qualities - such as her leadership ability - essentially cement her case.

 
Bridget Sloan
Slowly working her way back from knee surgery, Sloan, the alternate to the 2007 world championships team, only competed on two events in Boston. She's already been to Beijing, taking the bronze medal at a test event in November.

Sloan turns 16 the day after the Olympic Trials, but has postponed any celebration until later in the summer, saying that a strong competition in Philadelphia would be "the best birthday present I could ask for."

Her motto for the summer? "Anything can happen, and everything happens for a reason."

Could make the team because: Her clean, consistent gymnastics has scored well internationally. At Nationals, she earned the third highest uneven bars score; and remember, the U.S. team's weakness is bars.

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Shayla Worley's status is questionable, due to a back injury.

Shayla Worley
She skipped Nationals because of a back injury and won't compete on all four events in Philadelphia. She'll need to demonstrate her competitive readiness at the selection camp in July to be named to the team.

Martha says: "Based on my belief, I would like to leave the door open for her until the final selection camp. If Shayla, at the time, is in top shape ... she would be selected [to the training squad]. If she is not ... I don't see sufficient time to heal and get into shape."

Could make the team because: Last year, she didn't crumble under pressure at her first Worlds, competing in the team final on bars and floor. She was also the second-best all-arounder at Nationals.

The Newcomers
Chelsea Davis and Mattie Larson will be tested under the Trials pressure. Davis injured her knee before Nationals and did light training, but did not compete. Larson did, displaying strong performances on floor (where she finished third) and vault and said afterwards that the big-meet jitters are out and her confidence is high heading into Trials. While both have international experience, neither has faced the pressure of a three-up, three-count team final.

Martha says: "Mattie is a very technical gymnast, she has excellent technical execution. She definitely would be a good component of a team because she would make a good impression, but she also will have to show us that she is able to compete very consistently and be able to [hit]  all of her routines every time at any time."

"One of the young ones who was nowhere last year was Chelsea Davis. She would be one who would be one of the youngest and is just breaking in."

 
Could make the team because: Never count out wildcards.