American gymnast, Jonathan Horton, turns tables on his foot injury, improves Olympic medal chances
Instead of ruining Olympic chances, American gymnast Jonathan Horton’s foot injury just might end up doing the opposite.
Earlier this year, in October, Horton was performing the vault when his awkward landing tore a ligament in his foot and broke two metatarsals.
Horton had an MRI done as soon as he returned to Houston from the World Championships in Tokyo.
The doctors operated on his foot on the 20th October and the surgery was successful. For the next six weeks, he relied on crutches for mobility.
The nine month long recovery period predicted by the doctors prevents Horton from exerting any pressure on his foot.
As a result, floor exercise and the men’s vault are two apparatus that fell outside of Horton’s training scope for a sizeable while.
In a statement following his surgery, the athlete showed absolute positivity in the face of the setback.
“I can train on pommel horse, get stronger on still rings, and work on some details that I have not been able to focus on in the past. This could really be a blessing in disguise,” the athlete spoke.
Now, two months into recovery, it appears to be that Horton has followed his plan through and has actively taken control of the situation to morph it into an advantage.
The latest updates on Horton report that he has been giving all his time to training on the still rings, parallel bars and high bar – events which do not require footwork.
Horton, who will be turning 26 this December, was recently in Seattle to promote the 2012 Pacific Rim Championships, where he promised to “come back stronger”.
His high bar routine has already brought him an Olympic silver medal (Beijing, 2008) and National gold (Dallas, 2009). He also earned a gold medal on the still rings during the U. S. National Championships (Dallas, 2009).
The gymnast’s skills on the pommel horse, however, leave room for significant improvement. The injury has inadvertently forced Horton to specialise in apparatus and address the lack therein.
His training on the pommel horse, hence, is geared towards consistency in scores. He forecasts that maintaining his scores in the 14-point range can enable him to improve his all-around position.
The surgeons used two screws to fix his foot, which will be taken out mid-January. Once those are removed, Horton will give his foot a week to allow the bones to close.
Then onwards, the athlete will be allowed to set his own training targets, according to his personal judgment.
With his positive attitude and resilience, Horton has proved that he is definitely an indispensible asset to the American gymnastics community. He possesses both physical and mental strength required to become a well-rounded athlete.
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