Orozco Finishes 8th; World Cup Supports Him

Olympic gymnast John Orozco placed 8th in the men's individual all-around final on Wednesday, not qualifying for a medal.

According to the final results, Orozco finished with a score of 89.331, which was weighted down by a low performance on the pommel horse (at 12.566, ranking 23rd). Despite this he finished strong in the subsequent events, including vault (at 15.9, ranking 8th) and rings (at 15.2, ranking 3rd).

Japan's Kohei Uchimura won gold, with a score of 92.690. Marcel Nguyen, competing for Germany, won silver with 91.031. Fellow American Danell Levya won bronze with 90.698.

While he did not win a medal, Orozco has won the support from folks locally. At in Chappaqua, where Orozco trained from 2001 to 2010, there was support and excitement for him as he went through tough times. Folks cheered into the last event, and some sported T-shirts in his honor.

Jason Hebert, his former coach, said, “I’m extremely proud of the way he fought back after being down so far in the standings,” noting his comeback from the pommel horse performance. If Orozco had performed at a "average" for that event, Hebert believes he could have won silver.

The event is Orozco's last one for the 2012 London games; he competed in a team matchup on Monday, with the U.S. placing fifth. At World Cup, folks are already hoping that he will compete in the 2016 games, which will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"Four more years," said Jeaninne Johansen, a vice president of operations at World Cup, optimistically.

Hebert hopes to see Orozco again at World Cup, and that he will learn from what happened this time.

“He’s a gym rat so he’s going to get back in the gym and try to clean up on his mistakes," he said, adding that he can work on newer skills, too.

Orozco, who is only 19, will be 23 next time, and Hebert believes that he will be at his peak by then.

“He’s an Olympian to me and he will always shine gold," said Jacquelyn Juliano, a gymnastics coach at World Cup he said they are best friends.