There was no doubt that Sacramone, who turns 24 next month, would continue her quest.
“There wasn’t a question of whether I wanted to come back,’’ she said by phone from Denver last week. “It was, ‘Can I be ready in time?’ ’’
So far, her recovery is ahead of schedule. Sacramone is wearing a walking boot and hopes to transition to a normal shoe in a week or so. She has been doing upper-body training and riding a stationary bike on her functional leg. By February, she figures to be performing her usual routines.
If all goes well, Sacramone will be primed to retain her spot on the team at the June national championships in St. Louis and the Olympic trials in San Jose at the end of that month.
“We all are hoping for the best,’’ said team coordinator Martha Karolyi. “It looks like everything is going in a good direction. Alicia has the good attitude and the good approach and those are the important factors.’’
A torn Achilles’ is not as damaging as a blown-out knee. Courtney Kupets suffered the same injury on the same maneuver (an Arabian double front) on the eve of the 2003 World Championships and came back to win the Olympic trials and claim a team silver and an individual bronze in Athens the following summer.
“It definitely eases my mind knowing that people have recovered and been able to compete,’’ said Sacramone, who has rebounded from shoulder and knee surgery in previous years.
If anyone can bounce back, it’s Sacramone, whose nine-year career has been notable for resilience. After failing to qualify for the 2004 Olympic trials, she made the next year’s world team and won a floor gold and a vault bronze. Last year, after a post-Games sabbatical that lasted nearly two years, she came back to lead a young American team to the silver medal behind the Russians and won the vault.
“Alicia is mentally very tough,’’ said her coach, Mihai Brestyan. “She has the goal. She wants to go to the Olympics and get her medal.’’
