Horton Checks in from Germany

Sept. 4, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - For the second year in a row, Oklahoma gymnast Jonathan Horton has gone international. The Houston, Texas, native is part of the six-man American team set to compete at the 2007 World Gymnastics Championships, Sept. 1-9, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Horton has joined with SoonerSports.com to give fans a taste of his overseas experience as Team USA competes for a spot in the 2008 Olympic Games.

In his first Postcard, Horton talks about the team's long trip to Germany and what they're doing to prepare for competition.

Posted Sept. 1, 2007
Stuttgart, Germany

The trip has been great so far. The ride over here was just like any normal international trip I have taken in the past. The team met up in Washington, D.C. before we departed for Frankfurt, Germany. We all dressed in our street clothes because we aren't allowed to wear any national team apparel when we travel. Unfortunately there are a lot of countries that aren't big fans of Americans and it isn't smart to wear clothes with giant USA emblems on them.

The plane ride went well. It was an eight hour flight but it seemed fast because I stole Haley's Nintendo DS and played video games for like six hours. When we got here we took a two-hour bus ride to Stuttgart and immediately checked in and got our credentials to go into the practice and competition gyms. We had a quick workout and everyone was really tired because we had been awake for like two days straight already. We have been here about a week now and it has taken that whole time to get adjusted to the seven-hour time change. I was really sleepy every day for a while, but I'm better now.

Training is going really well. We just finished podium training, which is like a practice competition and they allow each team one day to train in the actual arena where we'll be competing. The team looked really good when we did routines today and everyone is really pumped about competing. I really believe the U.S. team could bring home a medal this year and all of the guys on the team, including myself, are really stoked about competing on Tuesday.

I haven't really gotten a chance to watch any of the other teams because we have kind of stayed in our own little world to avoid being distracted by what other teams are doing. We have three days until competition, and now that all of the hard training is done we're going to take it easy to let our bodies rest and prepare for the big day.

Anyways, the trip has been awesome so far. We haven't done much besides eat, sleep and work out, but I'm hoping we will get a chance to see a little bit of Germany before we leave. I miss everyone at home a lot and I would like to say hey to everyone that I haven't spoken to in a while, guys on the team, my family, coaches, and Haley. I would also like to give a big shout out to Cleveland Elementary - I hope things are going well and I am really thankful for the support that the kids have given me.

Well, I have to go now. I'm excited about competing and I hope next time I write I will have awesome news for everyone.

-Jon

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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