Jonathan Horton Video Interview, U.S. Olympic Gymnast

Before a competition, I just like to eat really light, pretty healthy. I particularly just have a sandwich, no cheese or anything like that, usually chicken. I eat a lot of chicken, maybe egg whites, nothing crazy, no secrets with me. After a competition is over, I love to have a huge pizza. There is nothing better than just having a supreme pizza, and just eating like, I don’t know, I could probably eat all of it after a competition is over.

In the morning before a competition, the main thing that I like to do is visualize. I don’t change too much about my day. I eat the same, I try to get the same amount of sleep, but I make sure I go through all my routines in my head as soon as I get up. It just kind of focuses me, gets me in the zone, and mentally prepares my mind for what is about to happen in the day. I go through all six of the events, see myself being successful — landing, sticking my dismounts, and it just helps me feel better before the meet.

This time I just know what to expect at the Olympics. Before, I remember stepping off the airplane in Beijing and just not understanding how big the event actually was. I mean, I had watched the games on TV before, but there is nothing that can prepare you for actually going through it and being in the mix of everything. And now that I know what to expect, I think I can kind of sit back, soak it all in a little more and just really enjoy the experience, because I think last time it happened so fast, it was just like a whirlwind. I don’t think I really enjoyed it as much as I could have.

I mean, the main reason I got into gymnastics is just because I was kind of a crazy kid. I’d even go as far as saying I was kind of psychotic. I did some crazy stuff that made my parents put me in it when I was four years old — like, I rode a garage door to the ceiling one time, I climbed a pole in the middle of a Target, I used to jump off the roof when my parents weren’t watching. I just did all kinds of crazy stuff and got into the sport. It was just a perfect fit for me. I was just always that trickster — I always went for the big skills that nobody else ever did, and I think because of that mentality, because I was willing to go for the big stuff, I think that’s why I’ve gotten to where I am today and why I’ve had so much success.