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American gymnasts take center stage at XXX Summer Games By George Dickie © Zap2it been so satisfying. Coming into the 2008 Never has third place Summer Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. men's gymnastics team was shaping up as one of the favorites in the team events. Led by Paul and Morgan Hamm, the Americans were considered a near lock for a silver or even a gold medal. But then disaster struck. As the games got under way, Paul was forced to withdraw from competition due to hand and shoulder injuries, followed 10 days later by his brother with a bad ankle. Suddenly, the team with fied for that team final com- petition in, I think, sixth place, we kind of went into the meet like, 'OK, it's time to prove people wrong. And don't hold back; give everything you have, and when we leave this competi- tion, make sure everything that we had was left at the competition.' And so when we won the bronze medal, it was so satisfying to know that we had kind of beaten the odds and accomplished something great together." This time around, there "And so when we quali- its eyes on the podium was picked to finish out of the top eight and be forgotten. That is, until a scrappy unit led by Houston native Jonathan Horton rallied to the cause and finished with a surpris- ing bronze medal. Horton, the only male member of that team per- forming in the medal round at the XXX Summer Olym- pics in London Monday, July 30, on NBC, recalls that mo- ment on the podium with his teammates as the proudest of his life. "There was so much ef- is no flying under the radar for this U.S. team. Horton, at 26, is now considered the graybeard and backbone of a five-man squad whose average age (minus Horton) is under 20. In fact, with 2011 world championship medalists Danell Leyva (gold), John Orozco (bronze) and Jake Dalton (bronze) in tow, the Americans are considered one of the favorites to win the team gold medal in London. Still, Horton is taking nothing for granted. "We know our biggest fort put into that medal and such a great story that goes behind it," Horton, who put in the signature performance at those games, says. "People really started doubting that we could even be in the top eight and make it to the team finals. competitors right now are Japan and China," he says. "You never know, there al- ways could be some dark horse that sets up, like Great Britain is doing really well and Russia and Germany. But you know, our main competition that we've had over the past few years has been Japan and China, and we definitely believe that we can walk away from this Olympics with a gold medal for the team. It hasn't been done since 1984, and we've got the talent, we have the passion, the heart to do it, and I think the other coun- tries know that we are good enough to do it. "And it's been a really long time since the U.S. has been able to put pressure on that gold-medal spot, and that's our expectation. That's what we want; that's what we're shooting for. And I have my own individual goals. I'd like to be a medal- ist in the all-around ... . But my No. 1 goal, the first thing that's in my mind is helping our team win a gold medal." Horton, who also won a silver in the high bar at Beijing, is adamant when he says that winning an Olympic medal, no matter the color, is a life-changing event, pure and simple. "Just the attention of be- times I've put my medals around a grown man or woman's neck, and they get emotional over it because it's just so powerful," he contin- ues. "And just the opportuni- ties that have come up, even recently, with people wanting to help me out to make this next Olympics, the spon- sors and just the support and family - just everything. I mean, the Olympics is a life- changing dream come true." That dream ostensibly began at age 3, when his parents first noticed their son liked heights, doing such odd things as riding the Horton family garage door to the ceiling and shimmying up a pole in the middle of a Target department store. "Well honestly, I don't ing an Olympian itself is just great," he says, "and if you win a medal, regardless of the color, you all of a sudden have a platform. You have a platform to tell your story, to be who you want to be and inspire kids. I even had the opportunity to inspire adults. "I mean, I can't even begin to tell you how many really remember it myself," Horton says. "It's just the story that my mom tells me. And I think that was the first inkling that my parents got that 'OK, our son is kind of crazy, and he needs to be in a sport like gymnastics.' You know, anytime your son at the age of 4 climbs a 25- foot pole to the ceiling, he's got some interesting talent that probably needs to be brought out." Catch the Craze & Save! Save on Rentals • Breakfast Get Free Glass Cleaner Save on a Quilt Find these great savings plus more on Coupon Craze! In The Goshen News every Monday, Online everyday! Nobody covers your hometown better 114 S. Main St., Goshen 574-533-2151 www.goshennews.com Employment Ad Today! Place Your Over 3,500 resumes are posted on monster.com in The Goshen News readership areas. 574-533-2151 ext. 398 goshennews.com / 574.522.4475 www.GurleyLeepHonda.com Jonathan Horton competes in the XXX Olympic Games Monday on NBC. 2 The Goshen News • Viewer's Choice • July 30, 2012 - August 5, 2012 2012 Editions of GAME PLAN are now available! 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