Horton Finishes Ninth in All-Around

Aug. 14, 2008

BEIJING, China -- Jonathan Horton of Houston, Texas finished ninth out of a field of 24 gymnasts in the men's all-around finals at the 2008 Olympics inside the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Wednesday.

Yang Wei of China won the gold medal with an overall score of 94.575, Kohei Uchimura of Japan won the silver medal with a 91.975, and Benoit Caranobe of France won the bronze medal with a 91.925.

“There were a lot of incredible competitors out there who had a great meet,” Horton said. “Hopefully with some more time and experience in this sport, I'll learn how to put together two incredible meets instead of just one (men's team final). Today I was really calm and just stayed relaxed in my gymnastics. I definitely didn't have that fired-up feeling that I had with the team, but I'm really happy with how I did. I don't have any regrets with my competition today.”

Horton started the day on the pommel horse and earned a score of 13.675, and then grew stronger as the day progressed with a 15.575 on the still rings. He got his highest score of the day with a solid vault that earned a 16.100 and next moved on to the parallel bars where he received a 15.275. Rotation five brought a fantastic high bar routine from Horton with a score of 15.350 and he ended the competition on the floor exercise scoring a 15.600, which earned him an overall total score of 91.575.

Bound for Beijing Central | nbcolympics.com | usa-gymnastics.org

Fellow U.S. men's gymnastics team member Alexander Artemev of Highlands Ranch, Colo., finished 12th with an overall total score of 90.675.

"I thought Jon had an other incredible meet and a great performance for a first time Olympian," said OU head coach Mark Williams who is in Beijing. "He didn't have the velcro on his feet like he did during the team finals but he still hit 6 for 6 again.

"I'm very pleased with Jon's performance throughout the Games. It's been a honor to coach him into the position as one of the top 10 all around gymnasts in the world.”

Horton and the U.S. men's gymnastics team won the bronze medal at the team finals on Monday and he will have another opportunity to earn an Olympic medal when he competes in the men's high bar finals on Tuesday August 19 on NBC at 7:00 p.m. (CT). (KFOR News Channel 4, Cox Channel 3 in the Oklahoma City metro area).

Horton completed his outstanding collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma with 18 All-America honors and six individual national titles, while helping the Sooners win three NCAA National Championships during his four years in Norman.

Horton is the second gymnast in school history to be selected to the U.S. Olympic Team and first since two-time gold medalist Bart Conner competed in the 1976, 1980, and 1984 Olympic Games.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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