Jonathan Horton
Jonathan Horton
Jonathan Alan Hortonis an American artistic gymnast. He is the 2008 Olympic silver medalist on high bar, the 2010 Worlds all-around bronze medalist, a two-time U.S. National All-Around Champion, and a 17-time medalist at the U.S. National Championships. In 2016 he intends to have surgery on his left rotator cuff and will not be attempting to qualify for the 2016 Olympics...
fun stressed-out relax
I tell my coach all the time "Hey, listen, coach. You know the hardest person on me isn't you, right? It's me." I'm the hardest person on myself, my biggest critic, always pushing. But there are days when I have to tell myself, "Relax, breathe, you're too stressed out." When it's no longer fun, when it's no longer something you can tolerate, that's when you have to take a break.
gymnastics journey college
It was definitely a big change in my life going from the college scene to really kind of being on my own. I got married and moved to Houston and started a whole new journey. It was scary in a way, but what's great for me is just focusing on gymnastics and my wife. I'm really able to put 100% into what my goals are.
jobs gymnastics great-things
Gymnastics is definitely my job, but the great thing about that is I love my job.
jobs gymnastics wife
I'm able to support my wife and family off of gymnastics. But at the same time I do take it very seriously - it is a job for me.
team gymnastics long
There's a point in gymnastics where once you get to a certain age your body just isn't going to be able to handle it anymore. But I'd like to continue on as long as I'm able to help the team out and be a contributor to the success of the U.S. team.
team taken college
Another big difference about not being in college: In college, you're on the team, you're competing for the NCAA - luckily I had a full scholarship and I was taken care of - then all of a sudden you're a pro and you've got to take care of yourself. I'm gonna keep doing the same thing, keep training, and hopefully everything works out.
tired sleep thinking
I'm no perfect gymnast. I want to go out and eat junk food, or I maybe don't sleep as much as I should, or some days I'll leave the gym and think, "Maybe I should have worked a little harder. Maybe I'm not as tired as I need to be." Every day you push a little harder, eat a little better, maybe go to bed a little earlier.
perfection training lines
A line I like to use is, "Every day is training. Every day of life is a pursuit of perfection."
workout morning winning
There's mornings where I have to clear my mind and think, "OK, why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this kind of training every day?" I can literally see myself standing on top of a medal podium winning a gold medal next to my teammates, something I've never accomplished. It reminds me: That's why I do what I do. That's why I love it. Let's get in the gym and have a good workout.
uncles team people
The Olympics is a huge deal, and there's such an adrenaline rush, but I am one of those people that finds every little victory in life extremely satisfying - the day I got married, the day I moved into my house, the first car I bought, becoming an uncle. The little victories in life really keep you going, and none of those are any less special than the Olympic team.
goal long feels
When I was 22, I finally reached that huge goal. Now I'm going for another one. It's so satisfying. It's something that I worked for for so long, and just to know that I got it feels so great.
dream mean kids
It's hard to put what it means into words. It's just a dream I had when I was a little kid. It's not every day [you] get to make your lifelong dream come true. The point of doing things in life is you pursue a goal, and you go after it, you reach it and you pick another one. But they're hard to attain.
years long competition
There is a period of tapering when we're not in the gym quite as long to try to save our bodies, but leading up to the competition we try to keep things similar to the rest of the year.
sports consistency training
One of the things about my sport that's important is consistency - being able to do your routines consistently and training consistently. If you change it up or try to make everything more intense because the Olympics is coming up, you tend to put too much pressure on your mind and your body.