Jonathan Horton plans return at U.S. Championships

Jonathan Horton
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Jonathan Horton is coming back from a “gnarly” two years, hoping to make a statement in his first gymnastics competition since the London Olympics.

“My No. 1 goal is to compete well and regain confidence in my own mind that, hey, I’m doing the right thing by training again, that I’m an important member of this team,” Horton, a two-time 2008 Olympic medalist, said in a phone interview Friday. “I think there are a lot of people who are counting me out. They’re saying, ‘He’s had a good run. He’s washed up. He’s finished.'”

Horton plans to compete in all six events at the U.S. Championships from Aug. 22-24 in Pittsburgh. It would be his first meet since a disappointing London Games, where the U.S. was expected to win a team medal at a third straight Olympics but finished fifth.

That result motivated Horton, now 28, to pursue a third Olympic berth in 2016. No U.S. gymnast has made three Olympic teams since Blaine Wilson in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Horton was the oldest member of the 2012 U.S. men’s gymnastics team, the only returning Olympian, and in 2016 would be the oldest U.S. men’s gymnast since 1956, according to sports-reference.com.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot of gas still in the tank,” Horton said. “I’m still learning. I’m still getting stronger. You can probably ask anybody who is close to me if I was happy with how things went down in London. No. I can’t end my career like that. Whether I make another Olympic team or not, I’m going to do everything I can and hopefully help Team USA redeem itself a little bit.”

Horton took sixth in the London Olympic high bar final with a right shoulder that would require nearly complete reconstructive surgery. He waited until after the Olympics to get an MRI, which revealed tears in two parts of his rotator cuff, his labrum and his bicep.

“We don’t know how you did what you just did [compete in the Olympics], because your shoulder’s torn to shreds,” a doctor told him.

He had the surgery in December 2012, after a painful post-Olympic tour, and needed nine months to recover.

“It was worth every bit of the surgery and pain I went through,” Horton said. “It’s like a brand-new shoulder.”

Horton then tore a pectoral muscle at a National Team camp in December 2013, requiring another surgery and three more months of recovery.

“I lost pretty much all my strength,” said Horton, a married father of an 11-month-old son, David, who is showing early gymnastics promise. “I was skinny and nothing.”

Horton said he feels healthier now than at any point in the last two years. He’s in the gym four to six hours per day and putting routines together. The most difficult apparatus to regain full strength on has been still rings, where he says he’s at about 50 percent after performing his first iron cross skill two weeks ago.

Horton, the U.S. all-around champion in 2009 and 2010, petitioned onto the U.S. National Team for this year.

He’s aiming for a top-three all-around finish at the U.S. Championships in August, where the favorites ought to be the last two U.S. champions, 2012 Olympic teammates Sam Mikulak and John Orozco.

“In the past I would have said, ‘I’ve got to win [the U.S. all-around title],'” Horton said. “I have a very realistic goal for myself. Compete, do a good job and be confident.”

Horton isn’t optimistic about his chances to make the six-man team for the World Championships in October in China, even though a top-three U.S. all-around finish would probably merit a spot.

The U.S. depth has only increased in Horton’s absence. Four different American men won individual apparatus medals at the 2013 World Championships.

“I think there’s a slim chance to make the worlds team,” Horton said. “Unless I’m in tip-top shape on every event, I’m just not sure it will happen.

“I’m kind of keeping my hopes low and trying not to get too crazy. My No. 1 goal is Rio.”

Gabby Douglas to return to U.S. National Team camp

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

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At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

Main draw play began Sunday, live on Peacock.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Turning 22 during the tournament, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her most recent match with a right thigh injury last week and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, are the best hopes to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

Main draw play began Sunday, live on Peacock.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, who lost in the French Open first round in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, is improved on clay. He won the Italian Open, the last top-level clay event before the French Open, and is the No. 2 seed ahead of Djokovic.

No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe and No. 16 Tommy Paul are the highest-seeded Americans, all looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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