IT may have taken longer than anyone xpected, but 2003 junior national champi- on Jonathan Horton finally earned a U.S. senior title on his sixth try. Ironically, he grabbed both honors under Cypress
(Houston) coach Tom Meadows, having sandwiched a stellar NCAA career at Oklahoma and
an Olympic medal in between.
Such was the hype that surrounded Horton,
who as an 18-year-old placed 13th at the 2004
Olympic trials. After various struggles since, he
caught fire when it counted most last year in
Beijing, when he inspired his U.S. teammates to
the bronze.
The Visa Championships in Dallas, Aug. 12-
15, probably came quicker than Horton would
have liked. His hectic
post-Olympic schedule
included a gymnastics
tour, college graduation,
and a June wedding to former Sooner gymnast
Haley DeProspero. But returning to his Houston
roots and age-group coach must have been the
perfect combination, because Horton led a talented Visa field after both days of competition.
“It’s been great,” Horton said of his new training
at his old gym. “A lot of gymnasts will tell you,
when you’re at one place for a long time you get
so comfortable you need a change.”
Drawing the most enthusiastic cheers from the
partisan American Airlines Center crowd,
Horton was forced to rely more on his past com-
petitive experience than
his current physical readiness. “Regardless of the
shape I’m in, I’m 23
years old, I’ve been to the Olympics, I’ve been to
world championships, I should know how to
compete by now,” said Horton, who admitted to
being “75 to 85 percent” in Dallas.
Still, does the national title validate Horton’s
role as the U.S. leader? “I guess it kind of does …
and to be honest, not in a cocky way, I’m very
comfortable with it,” he said. “I guess I like the
idea of people depending on me. My biggest
dream is to be in the Olympic Games, and the
team’s last event is high bar, and I’m the last guy
up….”
By Dwight Normile
