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Jonathan Horton Personal information Full name: Jonathan Alan Horton Nickname(s): Jon Country Represented:  United States Date of birth: December 31, 1985 (1985-12-31) (age 24) Place of birth: Houston, Texas Height: 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) Discipline: Men's artistic gymnastics Level: Senior Club: Team Chevron Gym: Cypress Academy College team: University of Oklahoma[1][2] Head coach(es): Mark Williams Former coach(es): Tom Meadows

Medal record Summer Olympics Silver 2008 Beijing High Bar Bronze 2008 Beijing Team VISA Championships Gold 2009 Dallas All-Around Gold 2009 Dallas Rings Gold 2009 Dallas High Bar Silver 2009 Dallas Floor Gold 2006 St. Paul Floor Silver 2006 St. Paul All-Around Bronze 2006 St. Paul High Bar

Jonathan Alan Horton (born December 31, 1985 in Houston, Texas) is an American gymnast. Jonathan began gymnastics in 1990. "I was a wild child," Horton said. "I once climbed a pole in the middle of Target all the way to the ceiling. I used to do back flips on my parents' bed and I rode a garage door to the top when I was 3 years old." ^[3]

Jonathan won the 2008 Olympic silver medal on the high bar. He was a member of the U.S. team to the 2006 and 2007 World Gymnastics Championships and finished fourth in the all-around at the latter. He is a six-time medalist at the U.S. Championships and is the 2006 champion in the floor exercise.

Horton was named to the U.S. Olympic team following the men's competition at the 2008 Olympic Trials, where he won the All-Around. The team entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics amongst much skepticism as to whether the team could compete against such established teams as the Japanese, Chinese, and German teams. Injuries had forced team leaders Paul Hamm and Morgan Hamm to withdraw from competition, thus causing the American team to bring in alternates Raj Bhavsar and Alexander Artemev. The American men performed better than many had anticipated, with Horton being the team's top performer. The American team ended the competition with the bronze medal after a stressful pommel horse event. In the event finals, Horton added a silver medal in the high bar event. ^[4][5]

National competition results

• 2009 Visa Championships, Dallas, TX.:1st-AA, 1st-HB, 1st-SR, 2nd-FX
• 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials: 1st-AA
• 2008 Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas, Nev.: 3rd-SR
• 2007 Visa Championships, San Jose, Calif.: 4th-PB, SR; 6th-AA
• 2007 NCAA Championships, State College, Pa.: 1st-FX, HB; 2nd-AA(T); 2nd-Team; 3rd-SR
• 2007 Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas, Nev.: 2nd-FX(T); 4th-PB(T); 6th-HB
• 2006 Visa Championships, St. Paul, Minn.: 1st-FX; 2nd-AA; 3rd-HB(T); 4th-SR
• 2006 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, Norman, Okla.: 1st-AA, FX, SR
• 2006 Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas, Nev.: 2nd-AA; 3rd-FX, SR, HB
• 2005 Visa Championships, Indianapolis, Ind.: 5th-AA, FX, VT
• 2005 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, West Point, N.Y.: 1st-Team; 3rd-AA, HB(T); 4th-FX
• 2005 Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas, Nev.: 1st-FX(T); 4th-VT
• 2004 Visa Championships, Nashville, Tenn.:
• 2004 Winter Cup, Las Vegas, Nev.:
• 2003 National Championships, Milwaukee, Wis.: 1st-AA (Jr. Div)
• 2003 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships, Savannah, Ga.: 2nd-HB; 3rd-AA; 4th-SR, PB
• 2003 Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas, Nev.: Individual Event Finalist
• 2002 U.S. Championships, Cleveland, Ohio: 1st-SR, VT; 2nd-AA, FX; 5th-HB(T)
• 2002 U.S. Men's Qualifier, Colorado Springs, Colo.:
• 2002 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships, San Diego, Calif.: 1st-AA; 2nd-FX, SR, VT, PB; 3rd-HB
• 2000 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships, Austin, Texas: 2nd-AA; 3rd-SR, VT
• 1999 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships, Houston, Texas
• 1998 Circle of Stars, Indianapolis, Indiana: 1st FX, PH, SR, VT, PB, HB, AA

International competition results

• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: 3rd-Team; 2nd-HB
• 2008 Tyson American Cup, New York, N.Y.: 5th-AA
• 2007 World Championships, Stuttgart, Germany: 4th-Team, AA
• 2007 USA vs. UKR vs. RUS, Kiev, Ukraine: 1st-AA; 3rd-Team
• 2007 Tyson American Cup, Jacksonville, Fla.: 1st-AA
• 2006 World Championships, Aarhus, Denmark: Team
• 2006 France/Switzerland/USA Meet, Paris, France: 1st-Team; 2nd-AA
• 2006 Tyson American Cup, Philadelphia, Pa.: 1st-AA
• 2005 Pan American Championships, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 1st-Team
• 2005 World Cup, Paris, France:
• 2003 Junior International Invitational, Yokohama, Japan: 2nd-AA; 3rd-HB
• 2003 Pan American Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: 3rd-Team; 4th-AA(T)

2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars

Jonathan performed alongside his 2008 Beijing Olympic teammates at The 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. The tour began on September 7, 2008 and concluded on November 16th. The dance sets had a mix of hip hop and contemporary dance with gymnastic elements.

References

External links

• J-Horton.com : The First Fan site for Jonathan Horton
• Jonathan Horton: Official Website
• Jonathan Horton at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• Jonathan Horton at USA Gymnastics
• Jonathan Horton NBC Olympics Athlete page
• Jonathan Horton at the United States Olympic Committee.
• GK Elite - Jonathan Horton Sponsor

Video interviews

• Jonathan Horton Interview
• Jonathan Horton talking about his High Bar event final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Gymnastike.org
• Jonathan Horton talking about his experiences at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Gymnastike.org