Jonathan Horton changed his high bar routine and altered his Olympic fortunes.
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The former Oklahoma gymnast won silver on the high bar Tuesday, just missing the gold medal. He scored a 16.175, only .025 points behind China’s Kai Zou.
Horton hit one big release after another, then landed his dismount.
“Tonight was amazing,” Horton said via e-mail from Beijing only a couple hours after the competition, “and landing that dismount was just another highlight to my Olympic experience.”
It wasn’t just winning the medal. It was the way he won it.
Horton changed his high bar routine in the days leading up to the competition. In an already high-flying set that he’s worked on and struggled with for more than a year, he did two different releases. That changed about 30 percent of his routine.
“Unheard of to do a different routine in finals,” Horton’s coach Mark Williams said via e-mail, “but we thought the gamble was worth it if he had a chance to medal.”
Horton worked on the new moves for two days in the practice gym. Williams liked what he saw and Horton liked how he felt, so they decided to go for it.
Truth is, Horton didn’t see much of a choice.
“I basically knew that if I did my old routine I had no chance at a medal,” said Horton, whose start value increased half a point with the changes. “I cut loose with a couple of different releases, and I rocked a set.”
Horton added the silver to what was already an impressive Olympics.
The 22-year-old from Houston led the United States to a bronze medal in the team competition, an unexpected result after the Americans lost the Hamm twins to injury. Then, he finished ninth in the all-around competition, only .35 points away from the silver.
“I couldn’t be happier right now,” Horton said after the high bar finals. “This Olympics has been a dream come true.”
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Another gooner comes up short of there goal...lol What else is new...Pokes 2008 Big12 champs!!!!
JP, you dumb-bunny. That's good newspaper writing. If it's so good, you don't need to see it, that means the writer did well. If you still want to see it, then that means there's plenty to watch. Doofus. tu--this is coming from a guy who calls himself "Stinkerpants"--look, it's perfectly fine to be a voice crying in the wilderness, and take exception to all the Okies around us like you usually do. It's another thing just to be a twit and badmouth people who can do things you can't do. Show some class, willya? Pick on Sally Kern.
stinkerpants, Oklahoma City - Aug 19, 2008 9:43 PM
JP, what are you doing on the internet if you don't want to know what happened at the Olympics until tonight. Just about every news or sports website is going to show the results.
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.