In preparation for the Women's Olympic Trials, which start tomorrow, we're throwing it back to eight years ago and taking a look at the top routines from the 2008 Trials.

Performances from this competition helped to secure spots on the 6-member Olympic team, who later went on to win the team silver in Beijing. Check out these stunning routines below:

Nastia Liukin - Bars

Nastia Liukin was one of the best bar workers for the US in 2008, thanks to her super difficult routine. The routine was very long and jam packed with tough skills, including lots of connected pirouetting. On the first day of Trials, Liukin scored a huge 16.7 - the highest score from any competitor over the two days of competition. She later went on to win the silver medal on the event at the Olympics. Check out her routine below from Trials:

Chellsie Memmel - Beam

Chellsie Memmel was a strong all-around gymnast for the US, but her best events were bars, beam and floor. Her beam routine was full of unique skills that she performed with ease. Memmel always appeared calm and confident on the apparatus, and she put up an incredible performance at Trials, where she nailed every skill and stuck her high double pike dismount to score a 16.1. See her routine below:

Shawn Johnson - Floor

Shawn Johnson was another powerful gymnast on the team and a strong all-arounder. Her floor routine is packed with big tumbling, and she scored the highest on the event on both days, with a 16.1 on day 1 and a 16.2 on day 2. Johnson later went on to win the silver medal in event finals at the Olympics. Check out her routine from the second day of Trials below:

Bridget Sloan - Bars

Bridget Sloan was a key member of the 2008 team, having to step up when her teammates went down with injuries. Although she ended up competing vault only during the team final, her bar routine during Trials was one of her best performances. She had a relatively high D-score - a 6.7 - and she scored a 15.6 on day 1 of competition. Check out her routine below:

Samantha Peszek - Beam

Samantha Peszek got injured and unfortunately unable to compete for the team during finals, but her stellar performance during Trials won't be forgotten. One of her best events is beam, where she was known for her difficult acrobatic skills, including a standing full connected directly into a back pike. Check out her routine from day one, where she scored a 15.8:

Chellsie Memmel - Bars

Despite being injured and unable to compete beam or floor during team finals, Memmel was still able to perform her bar routine, which the team needed to help boost their score. Along with Liukin, Memmel was one of the US's best bar workers in 2008. She actually scored the highest execution out of any competitor on bars on day 2 with a 9.4, totaling a 16.4. Check out her routine below:

Nastia Liukin - Beam

In addition to bars, Liukin's other strong event was beam. She had a high D-score with a 6.6, but more importantly her execution was always one of the highest. On day 1 of trials, she scored a 16.1 with a 9.5 execution score, the highest on beam. She later went on to win the silver medal in event finals at the Olympics. See her routine below from Trials:

Alicia Sacramone - Floor

Alicia Sacramone was on the best tumblers for the US team. On floor, she flipped higher than anyone else and had excellent form on both her tumbling and her dance elements. Her routine from the second day of Trials was one of her best ever, and she scored a 15.7. See her routine below:

Shawn Johnson - Beam

No one was surprised when Shawn Johnson won the gold medal on beam at the Olympics. She had the highest combined score on the event at Trials, with a 6.9 D-score, matched only by teammate Memmel. Johnson was known for making her tumbling series look like she was on the floor. Check out her routine from the first day of competition, where she scored a 16.25, the highest score out of any competitor on the apparatus:

Chellsie Memmel - Floor

The Trials in 2008 were capped off by a final performance by Chellsie Memmel on floor. The entire arena was watching her for this routine, and Memmel delivered. She stuck nearly every tumbling pass and was rewarded with a 15.85 and a standing ovation, including from the selection committee. Check out the routine below:



All videos via USA Gymnastics


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