Horton wins second consecutive national championship

Jonathan Horton

Jonathan Horton, Houston native and graduate of Cy-Fair High School, has won a second straight U.S. National gymnastics championship.

After his slow start, Horton finished strong on rings and vault to finish with 181.65 points and hold off a surprisingly strong challenge from Danell Leyva to win the U.S. gymnastics championships by 2.3 points.

Horton has been called to lead the U.S. Men's Team for the 2010 World Gymnastics Championships in October, and he’s hoping for a gold medal.   

“I think for the team, an Olympic gold is within our sites. We can see it, visualize it. Now it's time to take action," Horton said. 

The championships, which precede the 2012 London Olympic games, will be an indicator of who will compete there.  Horton said he hopes his performance is good enough to represent America and try to bring home Olympic gold.