73. Falling Forward with Olympic Medalist Jonathan Horton
From wild child to Olympic medalist, Jonathan Horton is the kind of athlete who truly inspires, his determination and grit winning him silver and bronze Olympic medals. Jonathan begins the episode by discussing his experience as a hyperactive kid, including the time he climbed a twenty-five-foot support beam in the middle of Target! He then talks about how watching the ’96 Olympics women’s gymnastics team provided a moment of intense motivation that would help him become a pro gymnast. He also discusses the importance of finding your passion and not giving up, including taking new opportunities and embracing challenges.
Next, Jonathan chats about his time in college and how it helped him evolve from a self-centered athlete to a team member who supported and fought for his teammates. He then talks in detail about his Olympic experiences, from the doubts about the 2008 men’s team, to bonding through anxiety on the eve of team finals, to winning bronze against the odds. Plus, he shares how going for broke against his coach’s advice led him to a silver medal. Jonathan then discusses the injuries that led to the end of his gymnastics career and his one regret from that time before closing the episode with his experiences on Ninja Warrior and how he became a two-time author.
Episode Highlights:
From hyperactive kid to motivated machine
Finding your passion and taking on challenges
Learning to be a team member
Jonathan’s experiences at the Olympics
Competing on Ninja Warrior
Quotes:
“That was inspirational for me and millions, if not billions of people, to see those gold medals go over those women’s necks and watch the American flag go up in the air and listen to the national anthem. And I just remember thinking, ‘That’s it, that’s why I’m doing gymnastics, that’s what I want to do one day.”
“I think that you owe it to yourself to not quit on looking for that thing that fires you up and clicks in your brain and etches itself into your soul.”
“I was such an individual, selfish, self-centered athlete that only wanted to win win win for myself. And then, I got to college, and I quickly learned what it meant to have teammates that were all chasing after the same thing. And my first year of college was a steep learning curve where I had to toss all of my own, not all of my own self desires to the side, but really learn how to compete for the guys standing next to me.”
“We suddenly just became a brotherhood. We were more than just an Olympic team. We were a family of guys that were like, ‘Hey, screw it. I know that no one believes that we can win a medal. We barely believe that we can win a medal because we’re all panicking right now. But let’s just go out there. And we always said, grip it and rip it, just grab the equipment and just go.”
“My goal was always to be like Laura Wilkinson and win gold. I wanted that gold medal. And that’s what kept driving me. I never got to really call myself an Olympic champion. But I also tell people, I didn’t lose gold. I won silver, I won bronze, I didn’t lose anything.”
Links:
5 Ways to Stay Focused in a Competition
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Jonathan’s Links:
Falling Forward: How An Ordinary Kid Failed His Way to His Olympic Dream on Amazon
If I Had Known: Life Lessons From An Olympic Pro Athlete on Amazon
