By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Gymnast Samantha Sheehan has withdrawn from the U.S. Championships. (Michael Snyder/file photo) | ZOOM |

Villa Hills, Ky., gymnast Samantha Sheehan, 17, has withdrawn from the U.S. Championships because of a hairline fracture of her big toe, an injury she suffered while training on the uneven bars. The competition begins Thursday in Milwaukee.

The top three finishers at nationals secure spots on the U.S. team at the World Championships Aug. 16-24 in Anaheim. Sheehan, who won the bronze medal in floor exercise at Worlds last November, still can qualify for one of the other three berths or two alternate spots determined at a selection camp July 1-6 in Houston.

"It's a very small injury, but it's bad timing," said Mary Lee Tracy, Sheehan's coach at Cincinnati Gymnastics in Fairfield. "God willing, that bone will heal very quickly. She had a great shot of making this team, but how she'll be in three weeks I don't know."

Sheehan has been ranked anywhere from No. 2 to 10 among U.S. gymnasts this year, Tracy said. Should she not make the Worlds team, Sheehan could be among the six gymnasts or one alternate named to the U.S. team for the Pan American Games Aug. 1-17 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Tracy will have two juniors vying to make the 10-member junior national team: Ashley Priess, 13, and Caitlin Sullivan, 12.