Horton's medal hopes go splat at gymnastics worlds
10/16/2009 | 02:47 PM
LONDON — A bad night might turn out to be the best thing for Jonathan Horton.
The two-time Olympic medalist came to the world gymnastics championships expecting to contend for the all-around title. Instead he finished way down in 17th place after falling on three events Thursday night, including high bar.
"Since the Olympics, I haven't had the motivation and fire like I feel like I should have," Horton said. "This does it."
Horton has long had the skills to be among the world's best and, after his breakout performance at the Beijing Games, he had the confidence, too. He led the Americans to a surprise bronze medal after they lost 2004 Olympic champ Paul Hamm and his twin brother, Morgan, then added a silver on high bar.
Though he finished fifth in qualifying after a fall off pommel horse, his longtime nemesis, he had a clean slate Thursday with scoring starting from scratch in the final.
But things went ugly in a hurry. His feet slipped out from under him on his first tumbling pass on floor, his very first event, and he landed on his backside. He was in 18th place after the rotation and his chances of catching Japan's Kohei Uchimura were probably over, but a medal was still a possibility.
Except the next event was pommel horse. Shaky routines on horse have helped cost him two medals already, at the 2007 world championships (he missed the bronze by a mere two-tenths of a point) and again in Beijing.
Sure enough, he stalled between the pommels and had to climb off, a look of dismay crossing his face. He also banged into the horse as he readied for his dismount, but managed to muscle through it. His score of 11.1 left him in last place.
He managed to make up ground with solid routines on still rings, vault and parallel bars. That brought him to high bar, where he is so good he can pile up all kinds of points. But he fell on a release move, prompting a groan from the crowd.
"It's gymnastics. You have days like this," Horton said. "I'll be better for this."
While people have tried to encourage Horton, telling him he can be great on pommel horse, he knows it will probably always be his weakest event. And that's fine. Yang Wei managed to win an Olympic gold medal and two world titles despite being dismal on high bar because he beefed up his other routines.
Horton has a similar plan. The pommel horse routine he has now is the same one you'll see in 2012, and it's sure to be serviceable, if not solid, with three years of constant practice. By adding skills to his other five events, he knows he can be competitive with Uchimura and everyone else.
Horton didn't have time to add the skills this year. Since Beijing, he spent several months on a cross-country gymnastics tour, finished up his last semester at Oklahoma, moved back to Houston and got married.
"I'm not done, I'll be back next year," he said. "I belong on the podium, and I can be on top."
Well done!
Daniel Keatings just delighted an entire country.
Keatings gave Britain its first all-around medal at the world gymnastics championships, finishing second to Japan's Kohei Uchimura on Thursday night. And he did it in London, no less, at the very O2 Arena where gymnastics will be held during the 2012 Olympics.
When the final standings were announced, Keatings' name could barely be heard over the roar of the crowd.
"It's amazing, really. I'm still speechless with what happened today," Keatings said, still looking dazed. "I didn't expect to win this at all, and with crowd pushing me all the way it helped keep my head up. I'm looking forward to another atmosphere like this in 2012. It just gave me a little taste of what it's going to be like."
Britain has had about as proud a gymnastics tradition as, say, Canada. It didn't win a world medal until Beth Tweddle's bronze on uneven bars in 2003, and Louis Smith's bronze on pommel horse in Beijing was Britain's first Olympic medal in nearly a century.
So any success is greeted with massive celebrations. Smith not only met the queen after Beijing, she knew who he was. For Keatings to deliver in gymnastics' glamour event, well, it doesn't get much better than that.
Actually, it does. Kristian Thomas was sixth, giving Britain two in the top 10, another first.
"I'm over the moon," said Keatings, silver medalist at the European championships earlier this year. "I came here hoping to make the final. The silver medal is just a dream come true, really."
It will also focus Britain's attention squarely on him. Now that he's won one medal, fans are sure to clamor for more.
Bring it on, Keatings said.
"I'm ready to take on all the hard work I need to do for the Olympics in 2012," he said. "I'm going to try and push my routines even further to see where I can get with them and compete with Uchimura."
Taking a seat
Fabian Hambuechen isn't a big fan of this spectator thing.
The German, a contender for the all-around title at worlds, is on the sidelines this week after rupturing a ligament in his left foot during training Sunday. Rather than returning to Germany after he was hurt, Hambuechen decided to stay in London to support his teammates.
Marcel Nguyen was 12th Thursday night in his first all-around final.
"I don't know how good I could be if I was healthy. But it was not easy to watch," Hambuechen said. "I've thought about it a lot for the last two days. But I talked to a lot of the gymnasts and everybody told me, 'I'm sorry.' It's OK. I feel good."
Hambuechen doesn't need surgery, and said he's already started walking, being careful not to put his full weight on the foot. He expects to return to full training in about six weeks.
The loss of Hambuechen was a blow for the competition, and not simply because he was expected to challenge Japan's Kohei Uchimura for the world title. He's one of the sport's most popular athletes, with his fellow competitors and fans. His high bar routine alone is worth the price of admission, packed with a circus act-like mix of flips, twists and pirouettes.
"It was something weird, to see someone qualifying for the high bar final at 15.1. It's not that difficult to get that score," said Hambuechen, who scored a 16.25 when he won the high bar title at the 2007 worlds. "But the judges were really hard."
Ropes and mats
Benoit Caranobe, the surprise bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics, was eighth. Colombia's Didier Yamit Lugo Sichaca and Jeffrey Wammes of the Netherlands withdrew. They were replaced by Ildar Valeiev of Kazakhstan and Belarus' Artsiom Bykau. – AP
The two-time Olympic medalist came to the world gymnastics championships expecting to contend for the all-around title. Instead he finished way down in 17th place after falling on three events Thursday night, including high bar.
"Since the Olympics, I haven't had the motivation and fire like I feel like I should have," Horton said. "This does it."
Horton has long had the skills to be among the world's best and, after his breakout performance at the Beijing Games, he had the confidence, too. He led the Americans to a surprise bronze medal after they lost 2004 Olympic champ Paul Hamm and his twin brother, Morgan, then added a silver on high bar.
Though he finished fifth in qualifying after a fall off pommel horse, his longtime nemesis, he had a clean slate Thursday with scoring starting from scratch in the final.
But things went ugly in a hurry. His feet slipped out from under him on his first tumbling pass on floor, his very first event, and he landed on his backside. He was in 18th place after the rotation and his chances of catching Japan's Kohei Uchimura were probably over, but a medal was still a possibility.
Except the next event was pommel horse. Shaky routines on horse have helped cost him two medals already, at the 2007 world championships (he missed the bronze by a mere two-tenths of a point) and again in Beijing.
Sure enough, he stalled between the pommels and had to climb off, a look of dismay crossing his face. He also banged into the horse as he readied for his dismount, but managed to muscle through it. His score of 11.1 left him in last place.
He managed to make up ground with solid routines on still rings, vault and parallel bars. That brought him to high bar, where he is so good he can pile up all kinds of points. But he fell on a release move, prompting a groan from the crowd.
"It's gymnastics. You have days like this," Horton said. "I'll be better for this."
While people have tried to encourage Horton, telling him he can be great on pommel horse, he knows it will probably always be his weakest event. And that's fine. Yang Wei managed to win an Olympic gold medal and two world titles despite being dismal on high bar because he beefed up his other routines.
Horton has a similar plan. The pommel horse routine he has now is the same one you'll see in 2012, and it's sure to be serviceable, if not solid, with three years of constant practice. By adding skills to his other five events, he knows he can be competitive with Uchimura and everyone else.
Horton didn't have time to add the skills this year. Since Beijing, he spent several months on a cross-country gymnastics tour, finished up his last semester at Oklahoma, moved back to Houston and got married.
"I'm not done, I'll be back next year," he said. "I belong on the podium, and I can be on top."
Well done!
Daniel Keatings just delighted an entire country.
Keatings gave Britain its first all-around medal at the world gymnastics championships, finishing second to Japan's Kohei Uchimura on Thursday night. And he did it in London, no less, at the very O2 Arena where gymnastics will be held during the 2012 Olympics.
When the final standings were announced, Keatings' name could barely be heard over the roar of the crowd.
"It's amazing, really. I'm still speechless with what happened today," Keatings said, still looking dazed. "I didn't expect to win this at all, and with crowd pushing me all the way it helped keep my head up. I'm looking forward to another atmosphere like this in 2012. It just gave me a little taste of what it's going to be like."
Britain has had about as proud a gymnastics tradition as, say, Canada. It didn't win a world medal until Beth Tweddle's bronze on uneven bars in 2003, and Louis Smith's bronze on pommel horse in Beijing was Britain's first Olympic medal in nearly a century.
So any success is greeted with massive celebrations. Smith not only met the queen after Beijing, she knew who he was. For Keatings to deliver in gymnastics' glamour event, well, it doesn't get much better than that.
Actually, it does. Kristian Thomas was sixth, giving Britain two in the top 10, another first.
"I'm over the moon," said Keatings, silver medalist at the European championships earlier this year. "I came here hoping to make the final. The silver medal is just a dream come true, really."
It will also focus Britain's attention squarely on him. Now that he's won one medal, fans are sure to clamor for more.
Bring it on, Keatings said.
"I'm ready to take on all the hard work I need to do for the Olympics in 2012," he said. "I'm going to try and push my routines even further to see where I can get with them and compete with Uchimura."
Taking a seat
Fabian Hambuechen isn't a big fan of this spectator thing.
The German, a contender for the all-around title at worlds, is on the sidelines this week after rupturing a ligament in his left foot during training Sunday. Rather than returning to Germany after he was hurt, Hambuechen decided to stay in London to support his teammates.
Marcel Nguyen was 12th Thursday night in his first all-around final.
"I don't know how good I could be if I was healthy. But it was not easy to watch," Hambuechen said. "I've thought about it a lot for the last two days. But I talked to a lot of the gymnasts and everybody told me, 'I'm sorry.' It's OK. I feel good."
Hambuechen doesn't need surgery, and said he's already started walking, being careful not to put his full weight on the foot. He expects to return to full training in about six weeks.
The loss of Hambuechen was a blow for the competition, and not simply because he was expected to challenge Japan's Kohei Uchimura for the world title. He's one of the sport's most popular athletes, with his fellow competitors and fans. His high bar routine alone is worth the price of admission, packed with a circus act-like mix of flips, twists and pirouettes.
"It was something weird, to see someone qualifying for the high bar final at 15.1. It's not that difficult to get that score," said Hambuechen, who scored a 16.25 when he won the high bar title at the 2007 worlds. "But the judges were really hard."
Ropes and mats
Benoit Caranobe, the surprise bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics, was eighth. Colombia's Didier Yamit Lugo Sichaca and Jeffrey Wammes of the Netherlands withdrew. They were replaced by Ildar Valeiev of Kazakhstan and Belarus' Artsiom Bykau. – AP
