Horton Vies for Spot on U.S. Team

NORMAN, Okla. Jonathan Horton, University of Oklahoma sophomore gymnast, will attempt to add yet another impressive accomplishment on his gymnastics resume when he attends the 2005 World Gymnastics Championships Men's Team Selection Competition on Oct. 14 and 16 at 1 p.m. at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The field for the event includes 19 of the United States' best male gymnasts vying for the six-man team that will compete in the 2005 World Championships, Nov. 21-27 in Melbourne, Australia. The format for this year's World Championships features all-around and individual event competition.

Because of the emphasis on individual events, the Men's Selection Committee will use the results of the two-day meet to name the remaining five members of the men's team for the World Championships, as well as designate which athletes will compete in which events. The 2005 U.S. Men's World Championships Team will be announced on Oct. 17.

“Since there is more attention on the individual events, Jonathan is in a situation where he has to perform routines with a very high difficulty level,” said OU head coach Mark Williams. “The selection committee will be looking more specifically at who can bring home medals on individual events at the World Championships. Jonathan has to compete well and try to seize the tremendous opportunity that he has been given.”

Horton enters this weekend's competition after leading the U.S. team to gold at the 2005 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro last Saturday. In the event, Horton finished a team-high fifth in the all-around and posted the team compeition's highest score on the vault with a 9.525.

Horton will be competing on the floor exercise, vault and high bar at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

“After the Pan American Championships, I feel pretty good about myself,” said Horton. “I think I proved to myself that I am one of the top gymnasts out there. I just have to put forth my best routines and see what happens from there.”

Complete results from the event can be found at www.usagymnastics.org

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors