John Orozco: Gymnast Is American Men's Best Hope to Medal in London

While Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas are expected to lead a stacked United States women's gymnastics team to several medals, the men's team faces a tougher challenge. The onus will be on John Orozco to jump-start the medal charge.

Orozco won the national all-around championship earlier this year in St. Louis, a sign that he's ready to take the next step after finishing in third place last year. That should give him the confidence he needs as he prepares to tackle the biggest challenge of his gymnastics career.

The 19-year-old New York City native was a dominant force at the junior level. He picked up an eye-popping total of 14 gold medals from 2007 to 2009, but hasn't been able to replicate that success against tougher competition.

That is until he won the all-around gold back in June. He narrowly edged out Danell Leyva to win the national title, finally illustrating some of that remarkable upside. It was exactly the type of statement he needed to make before the Olympics.

As he prepares for the bright lights of the Games, Orozco knows he will be going up against the best gymnasts in the world. They are all dreaming of the same moment: standing on the podium with a gold medal around their neck and the national anthem playing.

Orozco's biggest competition figures to come from Kohei Uchimura from Japan. He's the three-time defending world all-around champion. That includes the 2009 title, which he won in London, where this year's Olympics are being held.

It would take a truly extraordinary effort for Orozco to emerge victorious ahead of Uchimura. After the dominant force from Japan, however, the field is wide open, leaving the best American hope a clear path to silver if he can put together an elite performance.

He will be joined on the men's team by Samuel Mikulak, Jonathan Horton, Jacob Dalton, Steven Gluckstein (trampoline) and the aforementioned Leyva. As a group, they have a chance to secure a medal for the team competition.

When it comes to an individual all-around, though, Orozco is the country's best bet. He proved that in St. Louis and he hopes to show that effort was no fluke.

It's a golden opportunity for Orozco. Now he has to make sure to take advantage of it. Not only for himself, but for a United States team looking for a superstar to step up.

He's the guy who can do it.