BEIJING • David Durante was physically tired, mentally drained and barely able to talk.

And he didn’t have a medal to show for it.

The Olympic Training Center resident had the tough luck of being the third alternate on the U.S. men’s gymnastics team that rallied without Paul and Morgan Hamm to win a bronze medal Tuesday.

Durante, 28, missed a chance to make his Olympic debut, not picked as a replacement after the Hamms withdrew because of injuries. A USA Gymnastics selection committee tabbed Morrison’s Sasha Artemev and Raj Bhavsar to replace them.

“It’s never easy to be up in the stands when you feel like your family is down on the floor,” Durante said. “I feel like I’m sharing this moment with them. I don’t have too much of a voice left because I was cheering so hard for these guys. It was an incredible competition.”

Warren’s inspiration

OTC boxer Rau’shee Warren doesn’t carry a picture of his 8-month-old son in his wallet. He keeps it taped to his right shoe during practice.

“He’s a big part of my life,” said Warren, who lost to South Korean Oksung Lee in his 112-pound flyweight opener. “Every time I see him, he laughs, he smiles. He makes me push myself in the gym. I think about him and my family every day.”

Golden girl

Lisa Leslie admits she’s greedy.

She has three Olympic gold medals, the most in women’s basketball history. She believes she has a realistic opportunity to win her fourth in her last Summer Games.

“I want to finish strong,” she said. “I can’t say that I’m a stranger to pressure. I’ve been here before. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Taekwondo family

Imagine being the only member of the U.S. taekwondo team not named Lopez.

That’s Charlotte Craig, who will make her Olympic debut Aug. 20 alongside world champions Steven, Mark and Diana. The group is coached by their older brother, Jean.

“They’ve taken me into their family,” Craig said. “We joke that I’ve been adopted by the Lopez family.”

 Easy translation

The job isn’t hard for Colorado Springs resident Robert Fox, team leader of the U.S. table tennis squad. The team features Jun Gao, Crystal Huang, Chen Wang and David Zhuang – all from China.

“I don’t have to worry about my players getting lost in Beijing,” Fox said. “They can help me find anywhere. I don’t have to ask for translators.”

From left: Douglas Bruce, Mark Waller Photo by