Olympic Gymnast Jonathan Horton: How Vulnerability Paved the Way to Victory [Episode 23]

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Jonathan Horton joins Laura on this week’s episode to share about the ups and downs of his 28 year career in gymnastics. After being caught scaling support beams in Target, his exasperated parents enrolled him in gymnastics in hopes of channeling his propensity for acrobatics. Little did they know that their son would go on to represent his country in back-to-back Olympics, have two medals hung around his neck, and hold NCAA records that still stand today.

Jonathan shares about the intense perspective shift he went through in college and what it was like to be a rising star that proceeded to make the most mistakes ever in the history of men’s gymnastics at a World Championship. Most powerful is his story of the 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal Men’s team - a group that was highly scrutinized and ridiculed for being “a joke.” He shares about how the men on the team rallied not through strategy or training, but through an evening of vulnerability and honesty that led to a sincere pact. The following day the US Men’s Gymnastics teams had the meet of their life, one that Horton is still most proud of to date.

The Beijing Games were strongly juxtaposed by a disappointing performance four years later in London, as Horton shares about the pressure of entering a competition ranked #1 as opposed to an underdog. A series of injuries led Horton to ask himself hard questions about his next steps, how he wants to be remembered, and what he is doing to give back to the athletic community.

Learn more here: http://www.hopesports.org/olympic-gymnast-jonathan-horton

For further information about trips with Hope Sports visit www.hopesports.org.

For more about our host, visit www.laurawilkinson.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Produced by Simpler Media