U.S. gold medalist Hamm nabs instant fame

By Jill Lieber

USA TODAY

ATHENS, Greece - Paul Hamm had a slight letdown after winning the Olympic men's gymnastics all-around title Wednesday night at Indoor Hall.

When he finally got back to the Athletes Village about 3 a.m., after answering hundreds of questions from reporters, in a variety of languages, he excitedly burst into his room, but quickly realized his best friend, teammate, training partner and confidant wasn't there.

"Where's Morgan?'' Hamm said to himself about his twin brother Morgan. He then proceeded to knock on the doors of his U.S. men's gymnastics teammates, desperate to share his Olympic gold medal with Morgan.

Morgan eventually showed up, having been out buying phone cards and surfing the Internet, and their reunion was emotional.

"Morgan was so excited for me. He had to see the medal,'' Hamm said.

The day after his stunning victory, Hamm, 21, admitted that he was still a bit dumbstruck.

In one of the most dramatic comebacks in sports, in the closest margin of victory (.012) in Olympic history, he became a U.S. men's gymnastics legend and created his own Greek lore, all in one fell swoop.

"When I got back to the Athletes Village at 3 a.m., I couldn't find my credential,'' Hamm said. "The guard asked me what I had around my neck, and I said, 'That's my gold medal.' And he said, 'Come on in.' It's my get-in-free pass.''

Leading after three events, Hamm crash-landed on the vault, scored 9.137 and dropped to 12th. "It was embarrassing because I almost rolled off the podium and onto a judge,'' Hamm said. "They deducted .5 for the mistake. Thankfully, there's no further deduction for taking out a judge.''

But then, he pulled himself together and pulled off the impossible, nailing parallel bars (9.837) and high bar (9.837). And the Olympic gold medal was his.

The instant Hamm stuck his high bar landing, his life changed. Hamm, the first American male to win all-around gold, spent seven hours Thursday doing interviews and meeting sponsors.

His agent, Sheryl Shade, already is fielding inquiries from corporations wanting to capitalize on his gold-medal glow. His bank account is growing by the minute. The Olympic gold medal bonus clauses in several of his current endorsement contracts kicked in, making him the highest-paid U.S. man in the history of the sport. He has earned $200,000 this week with four individual events remaining. That could bring him another $100,000 ($25,000 per gold).

The USOC also will pay him $25,000 per gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

"I told Morgan, 'Paul is a rock star today in the U.S.,' '' Shade said. "There is not a person who reads who doesn't know about Paul Hamm today.

Paul already represents Visa, GK/Elite Sportswear and Chevron, and will star in the 2004 Rock and Roll Gymnastics Competition Tour.

Meanwhile, he is trying to keep it all in perspective. He was back in the gym by 7 p.m. Thursday, already refocused on the individual finals (floor, pommel horse, parallel bar, high bar), Sunday and Monday nights. Morgan competes in floor and high bar.

Just as on the greatest night of his life, on the greatest day after, Hamm was thinking about sharing a special moment with his twin brother.

"I can't wait for event finals,'' Hamm said. "I hope Morgan is perfect on the floor, and we both can win gold. I feel there are still more medals to be won.''