Shannon Miller didn't sit idly and watch TV after she dislocated an elbow early this spring.
The 15-year-old gymnast continued to work toward her goal of making the U.S. Olympic team. She did one-armed vaults and virtually every routine she could without the use of her left elbow."I tried to make sure the rest of my body stayed in shape so when I got back, I would be ready to pick up where I left off," she said. "Stretching, conditioning, I did it all."
Miller made only a guest appearance at the U.S. Championships last month, but she made up for lost time Thursday by taking the lead in the U.S. women's gymnastics trials.
Miller took first place in three of the four compulsory events - the vault, balance beam and floor exercise - and finished second on the uneven bars for a 57.057 score. Three-time U.S. champion Kim Zmeskal was second with a 56.797 and Kerri Strug registered a 56.385.
The competitors are vying to make the eight-member Olympic training squad, which will gather together in France this July. Six of the finalists will compete in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain; one will be an alternate and the other will go home.
The compulsories count for 60 percent of the trials score, and Saturday's optionals will comprise 40 percent.
The trials use a weighted scoring system, with point totals from last month's nationals in Columbus, Ohio, accounting for 30 percent of each score. Miller was the only competitor on Thursday who did not compete in the nationals.
The injured Michelle Campi did not compete Thursday, so her scores will be taken entirely from the nationals. She was fourth with a 56.202, followed by Dominque Dawes (55.950), Kim Kelly (55.906), Wendy Bruce (55.654), Hilary Grivich (55.626) and Kristen McDermott (55.435).
Miller's score will be compiled entirely upon her performance Thursday and Saturday. The 4-foot-6 Oklahoma product went through the compulsory events in the nationals, but the scores were not counted and she did not participate in the optionals because she did not have enough time to properly prepare for them.
On Thursday, she scored 9.937 on the vault, a 9.925 on the beam, 9.850 on the bars and 9.912 on the floor.
"I hit all my routines, but I still have some improvement before Barcelona," she said.
Her goal is not necessarily to beat Zmeskal, but to simply do well and take her chances in Barcelona.
"My goal is to win every meet, but this is not between me and Kim," she said. "It's about whether I can do my best and whether I hit my routines."
Zmeskal, the 1991 World Champion, was in close pursuit and optimistic of overtaking Miller on Saturday.
"I'm stronger in the optionals," she said. "Tonight I did my best routines and I'm happy with that."
Betty Okino, 17, considered to be the second-best female gymnast in the U.S., did not compete because of a stress fracture in three vertebrae. She is nevertheless guaranteed a spot on the Olympic training squad.
Campi, 15, injured her elbow during a training session Tuesday night and could not compete in the trials. She placed third all-around at the U.S. Championships with a 77.86, and that score will be counted 100 percent.
If Campi's score ranks in the top eight after Saturday's competition, she will be make the Olympic training squad.