ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jonathan Horton hadn’t been this nervous for a competition in years.
“I was panicking in my room, crying, holding onto the teddy bear they gave us,” he said.
OK, that’s a bit of a stretch. But the 2010 world bronze medalist did have a serious case of the jitters as he prepared for his first competition since breaking his left foot at the world championships eight months ago. It’s the longest layoff he’s ever had.
“I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what my nerves were going to do,” he said.
They did just fine. The two-time U.S. champion and double medalist at the Beijing Games is in fifth place after the first night at the U.S. gymnastics championships. With a score of 90.30, he’s 1.55 points behind leader Danell Leyva and a mere .25 out of third. The men’s competition continues Saturday.
Horton got off to a rough start with a mistake on parallel bars, one of his better events. But he came right back with a trademark, high-flyin’ routine on high bar. Horton has always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie — his mother put him in gymnastics after he shimmied all the way up to the ceiling on a pole at a local store — and he gets the kind of air with his high bar release moves that would have the X-Games set oohing and aahing.
But he did them with utter confidence, grasping the bar as easily as if he was grabbing onto a strap on a subway car. He scored a 15.8
He was even more impressive on still rings, an event that makes most folks cry “Uncle!” just watching it.
Rings has always been one of Horton’s stronger events — he made the final on it at worlds — but he used all those months when his foot was healing to work on his upper body strength. He held his strength poses for what seemed like hours, the only sign of exertion the bulging veins in his arms and necks. When he moved from one skill to another, the cables barely even swayed. And he hit the mat with a solid thud on his dismount, blowing out his breath in relief as several of his teammates yelled, “Yeah Jon!”
Horton’s score of 15.5 on rings was the highest on the event, and his 6.7 start value — the measure of a routine’s difficulty — would stack up against anyone in the world.
His only other problem came on — what else? — pommel horse. Horse has long been Horton’s weakness, and it has likely cost him another world medal and one at the Olympics.
But the only medal Horton cares about these days is a team gold. Sure, he’d love to have a shot at contending for an all-around medal in London, and he believes he can still be the best in the United States.
First things first, however.
“I accomplished my goal of the meet, which was OK, I feel like a gymnast again,” Horton said. “I think I’m going to be better the next day.”
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NEXT STEP: Nastia Liukin knows exactly what she needs to do to earn a spot on the London Olympic team.
The lone weakness for the Americans is on uneven bars, which just happens to be Liukin’s signature event. After competing on balance beam two weeks ago at the U.S. Classic, her first competition in three years, Liukin is adding bars at the national gymnastics championships when the women’s competition begins Friday night.
“I’m in a good spot right now,” the reigning Olympic champion said. “There’s obviously a few weeks until trials, and that’s ultimately the time to peak as we get closer and closer toward London. Bars, I’m just excited to finally be able to compete.”
Liukin has the long lines and easy elegance of a ballerina, and she seems to float as she moves from one bar to another. Make no mistake, though, her routines are jam-packed with difficulty, so ridiculously hard they leave her gasping for breath when she finishes. She won a world title on bars in 2005, and added an Olympic silver medal in Beijing.
She and China’s He Kexin actually tied in 2008, but He won the gold on a tiebreak.
Liukin is still putting her full routine together after having to take a month off bars this spring because of shoulder problems. But national team coordinator Martha Karolyi has made it clear she’d like to see Liukin score around a 16 once everything is in place.
And Liukin is OK with that. She already has one of the highest start values of any American, and the next sloppy or ugly routine she does will be her first.
“Those are the expectations,” Liukin said. “But I think it’s also very important to take it one step at a time. It’ll be a little difficult to get close to (16) here at nationals. Hopefully, I’ll be adding a few more tenths to the routine at trials — it’s definitely realistic. She’s obviously very right, I can’t just do a mediocre beam routine and a normal bar routine because anybody can do that these days, and they also have two other events.”
There are now only five gymnasts on each team, down from the six in Beijing, leaving little room for single-event specialists. Liukin tied for third on balance beam, where she also is the Olympic silver medalist, at the U.S. Classic, but she knows bars is where she can add the most value.
Olympic trials are in three weeks in San Jose, Calif., and Liukin is aiming to be in top shape there. The London team will be named July 1.
“This is a lead-up,” she said. “It’s about peaking at the right time.”
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ROUGH LANDING: Alex Naddour knew as he was running down the vault runway that something was off.
Naddour, a member of last year’s team that won bronze at the world championships, jammed his left knee when he landed. He winced as he tried to take a few steps before he fell to the mat. He grabbed his knee as trainers rushed up, and sat there for several minutes. He was able to walk off the podium on his own, and finished the competition after trainers looked him over.
“It feels great,” said Naddour, who had an ice pack wrapped around the knee after the competition. “The trainers checked it out. I’ll be fine for Saturday’s competition.”
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SENIOR FISH: David Sender has pretty much everyone beat if there’s ever a contest for most unique experiences.
He has X-rayed a fish.
And not just any fish, mind you. His 13-year-old goldfish, which has never had a name.
“He’s still alive,” Sender said. “He’s actually starting to show his age a bit.”
OK, so a little background is in order. The 2008 U.S. champion has always loved animals — he’s halfway through veterinary school at the University of Illinois — and he got the fish for a science project. As anyone who’s ever had goldfish knows, they’re not exactly known for their longevity, so Sender didn’t see much of a point in getting attached to his new pet.
“I barely even took care of him,” Sender conceded.
But the fish thrived, even making the trip to Stanford for Sender’s undergraduate studies. A few months ago, however, Sender noticed that the fish was looking a bit lethargic so he took him into the vet hospital at Illinois. That’s where the X-ray was done.
And how, exactly, does one X-ray a fish? Sender said there is a powder-form of anesthesia, which is sprinkled in the fish’s bowl. Once the fish is out, it is taken from the bowl, placed on a tray and the X-ray is done.
“It was really pretty interesting,” Sender said. “I’d never taken X-rays of a fish.”
The X-ray showed the goldfish had a mass. It wasn’t removed, but Sender said the goldfish has rebounded and seems to be fine again.
But it still doesn’t have a name.
“It’s not like you talk to a fish,” Sender said. “It’s not like if you call him he’s going to come.”
Sender said friends have tried to name the fish over the years — Bubbles was one suggestion — but he’s refused. The fish has survived this long without a name, and Sender isn’t about to mess with the karma.
“If I don’t name him, I’m not attached,” Sender said, “and he’ll keep living forever.”
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JUNIOR DIVISION: Donnell Whittenburg leads the 16-18 junior division after the first day of competition. The Baltimore resident, who posted the top scores on still rings and vault, finished with 86.2 points, almost two points in front of Akash Modi of Morganville, N.J.
Marvin Kimble has a big lead in the 14-15 division after posting the highest scores on rings, vault, high bar and parallel bars. With 84.850 points, the Milwaukee native leads Hunter Justus of Cypress, Texas, by 2.250 points.
“It’s really great to be leading the standings,” Kimble said. “It gives me comfort for day two, but not too much because I don’t want to ease up. I want to hit all six again on day two.”
The finals are Saturday night.
