John Orozco: Handicapping Likely Place in Each Event

In his first taste of Olympic action, John Orozco helped lead the U.S. gymnastics team to a surprising first-place performance in prelims. 

After cementing a place in the finals, Orozco will be competing in the pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.

Here are Orozco's projected placements in each event during the team competition.

Pommel Horse

Orozco scored a solid 14.766, which was good for 12th in the event.

This had to be considered a victory for Orozco, as the pommel horse is not always his strongest event. 

While there is a slight chance that Orozco improves on this score, he most likely will find himself falling off just a bit. Expect Orozco to finish in the Top 15.

Still Rings

Despite a solid 15.066 score, Orozco only finished 14th in the still rings. Fortunately, this is the event where Orozco has the most room to improve.

Orozco is very capable of scoring in the mid-15s, which would put him firmly in the Top 10.

If Orozco can improve his placement, he would help his chances for an individual medal greatly.

Expect him to do just that with an improved score.

Vault

Orozco had a finish that was just average in the vault and placed 26th. 

Of course, that has to be considered a victory for Orozco, who tore his Achilles tendon in the vault in 2010.

He has healed nicely from that injury and has once again regained his confidence in the vault.

This is another event that isn't considered Orozco's strongest, but he has the potential to improve here. Expect at least a top-20 finish.

Parallel Bars

After a subpar performance, Orozco ranked 41st in prelims; it is the event where Orozco has the most room for improvement.

The parallel bars are one of Orozco's best events, but he didn't score up to his usual standard in London.

With Orozco's control and excellent ability to dismount, the parallel bars are an ideal event for his skill set. He should rebound with a vastly improved performance in finals, and he could easily find himself in the Top 10.

Horizontal Bar

A top-10 performance in the horizontal bar was great for Orozco, but he is more than capable of improving on his score of 15.266.

This is another of Orozco's best events, and he could easily improve on his score. In fact, he is more than capable of finding himself on the podium for the horizontal bar.

This could be Orozco's best chance to medal in an individual event, so he will be extra motivated to perform. That would give Orozco an edge, and he can be expected to improve enough to be in the Top Five.