Hot! John Orozco

By Matt Gagne, SI.com

Before he attempted to conquer the world, John Orozco took for a mountain. Last fall, related to 30 days ahead of this 2011 World Gymnastic Championships with Tokyo, among the top U.S. medal dreams going to Japan, risked livelihood along with arm or leg by barrelling affordable two bottle african american diamond inclines around Aspen, Colo. He is usually a tumbler by trade their teammates telephone him that Silent Ninja each regarding his Matrix-like capacity that will soar from the air and his or her knack regarding sneaking up about the competitors but there seemed to be nothing flowing about his somersaults upon skis. "Snow seemed to be getting in my own T-shirt, my hands and wrists ended up frickin' numb along with my experience was wet. I was falling everywhere," claims Orozco, who seem to have certainly not skied before. "My guru failed to be informed on it. He'd possibly be like, 'So near Worlds? What the hell?'"

Vitaly Marinitch, Orozco's discipline with the U.S. Olympic Training Center within Colorado Springs, was gob smacked to help know connected with his star pupil's snowboard journey nonetheless should not have been. "He's pretty, find out how to say it, crazy," pronounces Marinitch. "But he's a healthy during gymnastics."

The 19-year-old Orozco is the nearly all rubbed all-around gymnast to the U.S. mens team, that is gunning for the very first Olympic rare metal honor from the crew rivalry (Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET) since 1984. He made a comeback out of this snowboarding getaway to become the most notable American finisher (fifth) in the World Championships, aiding the U.S. win the bronze medal. Then within June he claimed the U.S. nationwide title in St. Louis, edging defending champ Danell Leyva by .05 of a point. At this Olympic trial three weeks later throughout San Jose, he or she complete second that will Leyva by less than a point.

Orozco's expertise and the buzz adjacent him or her from the lead-up for you to London she has recently been included in the music movie because of the music group Gym Class Heroes in addition to name-checked in a dialog by simply Michelle Obama advise that his location inside Olympics seemed to be almost preordained. But for a Puerto Rican from your Bronx who is the actual child of your retired sanitation worker including a replacement teacher, Orozco is definitely outlier from a in the past suburban, upper middle-class sport. For the actual Silent Ninja, selecting accomplishment seemed to be simply no sure thing.

During one involving his earliest trips towards the Olympic Training Center as a fresh teenager, the actual dark-skinned Orozco declined an article regarding chocolate cake available through probably his / her peers. Another gymnast asked, "What, you no longer take in your special kind?" Another time, among his colleagues spoke up when Orozco had been expected where by home was: "He's from Africa and also something." At an elite camp on the East Coast, a kid one time explained to Orozco, "Get away from me, my mother reported dark people bring diseases."

Even inside New York City reduing pot, young people during university would notify John, "Oh, gymnastics, that's gay." He'd simply just rotate his or her eyes and have them, "Can you do a backflip?"