USA Gymnastics: Danell Leyva and More Stars Who Are Key to Medal Hopes
The key to the United States women's gymnastics team is Gabby Douglas. She is now America's No. 1 female gymnast, and her efforts on the uneven bars will be huge for Team USA's hopes at winning a gold medal in the event.
Douglas and Aly Raisman, though teammates, will be competing against each other in many of the events, including the all-around competition. The American women's dominance in the all-around has already cost them a member based on the two-per country rule as all-around favorite Jordyn Wieber failed to qualify for the event that Nastia Liukin won four years ago.
In the team competition, however, that depth only makes them stronger.
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Douglas is the favorite to capture the most medals of any female gymnast in the world and is now the de facto all-around favorite as well after defeating Wieber in the Olympic trials.
She will certainly be anchoring the team's efforts to help the U.S. win the gymnastics medal-count race. But she won't be alone. These three gymnasts will also play a major role in bringing home medals for Team USA.
Jonathan Horton
On the men's side, Horton is the elder statesmen. He's 26 years old, and he's one of the strongest members of the men's team. He has his sights set on competing with the world's best gymnasts in the high bar event.
Horton qualified fifth in the event, but he wasn't far behind American teammate Danell Leyva for third, so he will certainly be a factor when it comes to possibly reaching the podium.
He won the silver medal in the 2008 Games on the high bar and will look to equal or better that achievement in London as it is the only individual event he was able to qualify for.
Finishing fifth in the team event was a big-time disappointment for Team USA it qualified first as a team and won bronze in Beijing. It will be tough for Horton to put that behind him, but he can still contribute by performing well in his signature event.
John Orozco
Despite his costly mistakes in the team event, Orozco is still possibly the best overall male gymnast for the Americans. He's young, but his versatility is what got him noticed. He won the United States all-around title at the U.S. trials, so he won't sneak up on anyone in London.
He isn't likely to beat Japanese star Kohei Uchimura in the all-around despite the fact that he qualified five spots higher, but he's a threat to medal if he can work out the kinks.
Danell Leyva
Leyva was just edged out by Orozco for the American men's all-around title at the U.S. trials. He will obviously be a contender in the all-around in London, but he is also someone to keep an eye on when it comes to the high bar.
Leyva qualified third in the high bar, but he was surprisingly the top overall performer in all-around qualifying. Uchimura remains the favorite even though he was ordinary in qualifying and the team event, but Leyva is probably the Americans' best hope for glory in London and a surprising all-around gold would erase the sting left by Team USA's collapse in the team event.
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