Leyva, Orozco, Mikulak lead way as Olympic trials begin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Danell Leyva, John Orozco and Sam Mikulak are bunched together as the top three all-around gymnasts after the first day of competition at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Earlier in June, Orozco upset Leyva in his bid to win the Visa Championships for a second straight year. Now he's after a spot on the 2012 Olympic team, but also has to contend with two-time U.S. national all-around champion Jonathan Horton and also Jake Dalton.
The final day of competition is Saturday. The top two all-around gymnasts, based on the combined results of the Visa Championships and this weekend's meet, will automatically qualify for the Olympic team, but only if each athlete also ends in the top three on three of the six individual events.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
If the criteria isn't met, a selection committee would select the two gymnasts, with up to three replacements being added on Sunday.
Leyva, who won gold on parallel bars at the 2011 World Championships, had a combined score of 276.50 for the trials, along with the two days of the Visa Championships and was leading the way. Orozco is second with 275.55, followed by Mikulak (274.65).
"Today went really, really well," Leyva said. "It was a good first day of competition, and the second day is going to be a lot of fun."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Horton, who won silver on horizontal bar and a team bronze at the 2008 Summer Games, had 271.35 points after the first day, and Dalton (269.55) was fifth.