Horton Wins Silver in High Bar

Aug. 19, 2008

BEIJING, China -- U.S. Olympian Jonathan Horton won the silver medal in the men's high bar finals on Tuesday inside the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Horton had an overall score of 16.175, finishing just behind Kai Zou of China who won the gold medal with a score of 16.200. Fabian Hambuechen of Germany won the bronze medal with a score of 15.875.

Aftrwards Horton commented on the biggest moment of his gymnsatics career.

"Tonight was amazing and landing that dismount was just another highlight to my Olympic experience," Horton said. "I basically knew that if I did my old routine I had no chance at a medal so I cut loose with a couple of different releases and I rocked a set. I couldn't be happier right now and this Olympics has been a dream come true."

Bound for Beijing Central | Watch Routine and NBC Interview | ESPN.com feature

University of Oklahoma men's gymnastics head coach Mark Williams talked about Horton's amazing routine as well.

"Jon changed his routine for finals from a 6.4 start to a 6.9 start," said Williams. "Unheard of to do a different routine in finals but we thought the gamble was worth it if he had a chance to medal. Jon added a Cassina, full twistsing layout double back over the bar and a layout Kovacs, double layout over the bar. He trained them well in the practice gym for two days and felt comfortable taking the risk."

Fans can watch Horton win the silver medal in the high bar event finals when the event is televised tonight at 7:00 p.m. (CT) on NBC. (KFOR Channel 4/Cox Channel 3 in the Oklahoma City metro area, and KJRH Channel 2/Cox Channel 9 in the Tulsa metro area).

This is the second medal for the 22-year old Houston, Texas, native who won a bronze medal last week after he and the U.S. men's gymnastics team competed in the team finals finishing just behind, Japan, the silver medalist, and host country China, the gold medalist.

Horton is the 2008 U.S. all-around silver medalist and he finished fourth in the all-around at the 2007 World Championships, becoming just the fifth U.S. man to finish in the top four in the all-around at an Olympic Games or a World Championships.

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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