London, England – Forgive the eruption of what U.S. Gymnastics president Steve Penny dubbed the "toe scandal." After all, nothing would please Americans more than another repeat of the drama that came during the 1996 Atlanta Games.
It was all falling into place. McKayla Maroney, world champion vaulter, had suffered a toe injury and already images of a hobbled Kerri Strug were forcing their way back into the collective memory of American gymnast fans everywhere.
Then Penny blew the whistle, opening up Thursday's press conference by down playing Maroney's injury. The week-old ailment was an aggravation of a previous fracture, simply a jammed toe that led to some bruising and swelling. The stars were not crashing down on the team's gold medal hopes.
"She's training very well and she's ready for competition," said Penny.
Maroney was never worried about the toe and said she did another four routines after the injury.
"All the girls here, you're never 100 percent without any pain. That's the whole point of gymnastics; no pain, no gain. So, you just kind of ignore what's there and do your job," stated Maroney.
That's excellent news for a decorated collection of gymnasts who certainly have the talent to bring home only the United State's second team Olympic gold medal and first on foreign soil. But the current squad isn't living in Team Atlanta's shadow.
"We don't really think about it too much. We know we have a job to do and we're ready to do it. Just thinking back on all the training we've done, if we do what we've been practicing then I think we'll do just fine," said Jordyn Wieber, who picked up gold in the individual all-around event at last year's World Championships.
Wieber, Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas return from that squad, which won team gold as well. Joining the seasoned trio in London is Kyla Ross, making up a unit that is being dubbed the "Fab 5."
"I think it sounds very good," women's national team coordinator Marta Karolyi exclaimed. "I think they're pretty fabulous. They just are strong, very ambitious and full with energy. I think it's OK with me."
The health of Maroney is important as she is coming off an individual gold medal in vaulting at the recent World Championships. She said on Thursday that she is ready to go in London.
"I feel really good right now. That's definitely an important thing, when you're body feels good and you're ready for something. It makes things a lot easier," she said.
Maroney and company probably have a lot of confidence given the success they had together last year. However, winners at the World Championships tend to struggle a year later at the Olympics, something not lost on Karolyi.
Karolyi, though, feels that individual honors are good for the team. Her thinking is that if one gymnast gets better, the team gets better. She still couldn't explain the World Championship hangover, though.
"I don't know what would be the reason. Sometimes people want to take down somebody who is on the top," Karolyi said.
Wieber set the bar high with her gold medal last year, but she is hoping to start a new trend in London.
"I can understand that," Wieber noted. "Sometimes winning the World Championship is such a huge thing and it's such a big deal you can kind of relax a little bit and go through here thinking, 'Oh, I'm the world champion.' But that's totally not what I did at all. Right after World Championships, I think I took one day off and I was back in the gym working hard again. I feel like I'm even stronger this year and hopefully I can change that stereotype."
Americans seem to love their gymnasts and the locals are ready to embrace a gold medal winning team. Kind of like how they took to another England-based phenomenon nearly 50 years ago.
For the women's team in London, they hope it is "Fab 4" plus one more.
