Biography of Jonathan Horton

Since winning the junior national title in 2003, Jonathan Horton has developed into one of the top American all-arounders. Horton won back-to-back American Cup titles in 2006 and 2007 and defeated the reigning European all-around champion, Maxsim Devyatovsky, at a duel meet in Ukraine in the spring of 2007. In September 2007, Horton finished fourth at Worlds, just missing a medal but still establishing himself as a legitimate Beijing all-around threat.

Horton, competing for the University of Oklahoma, has won a school-record five NCAA titles, including the 2006 all-around crown. In 2007, he won individual titles on his best events: high-bar and floor exercise.

As a child, Horton often displayed fearlessness, whether it was riding an electric garage door all the way the top, climbing a pole to the ceiling at a Target store or doing back flips on his parents' bed. Now, he's a self-proclaimed fast driver and is into anything that "gives me a rush." Nicknamed "X-Games," Horton is known for his daring high bar routine and is interested in doing stunt work in the future.

Horton was born in Texas but has lived and trained at the University of Oklahoma in Norman since 2004 and shares a house there with three of his Sooner teammates. He plans to graduate in 2008 and is majoring in business so he can one day open his own training facility.