Change of plans

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Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong and Corrie Lothrop, the three alternates on the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team, will train for the Beijing Games in Japan instead of in Tianjin, China, which was the original plan.

USA gymnastics president Steve Penny said that the change is being driven by visa issues. Alternates aren’t issued the same credentials as participating athletes. The athlete credential also serves as a visa, Penny said, but alternates must apply for a regular tourist visa.

Men’s alternates -- David Durante, Alexander Artemev and Raj Bhavsar -- have received their tourist visas, but U.S. women’s team coordinator Martha Karolyi said that continuing visa difficulties for the women forced the move to the training camp in Japan.

‘It would be more convenient to be in China,’ Karolyi said. ‘But we were told (we) just might not be able to train in China, so I said, ‘Why don’t we just go to Japan?’ ‘

The Olympic team of Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Chellsie Memmel and Bridget Sloan, along with the alternates, will return to the Karolyi ranch on Thursday afternoon to train together. On July 30 they all will fly to San Jose, where they will go through processing. They will leave for Asia on July 31.

Penny said that the men and women made separate arrangements for training venues. He said Chinese gymnastics federation controls the Tianjin facility and that may have complicated the visa issue.

-- Diane Pucin