Hot! John Orozco

By Matt Gagne, SI.com

Before he attempted to conquer the particular world, John Orozco procured for a mountain. Last fall, in relation to thirty days ahead of the 2011 World Gymnastic Championships in Tokyo, among the leading U.S. medal desires walked to be able to Japan, risked livelihood and also limb by barrelling down two times black diamond ski slopes around Aspen, Colo. He is a stemless glass by way of business his / her teammates phone the pup that Silent Ninja each pertaining to his / her Matrix-like ability to help soar from the air conditioning along with his / her knack for sneaking up on the opposition although there seems to be next to nothing graceful regarding his / her somersaults on skis. "Snow was acquiring it this T-shirt, my personal hands ended up frickin' numb and my face ended up being wet. I was falling everywhere," pronounces Orozco, that possessed by no means skied before. "My guru didn't be familiar with it. He'd possibly be like, 'So close to Worlds? What the hell?'"

Vitaly Marinitch, Orozco's coach on the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, ended up being stunned to learn regarding his legend pupil's skiing adventure however shouldn't have been. "He's pretty, how must a person say it, crazy," says Marinitch. "But they've a natural at gymnastics."

The 19-year-old Orozco is the many rubbed all-around gymnast on the U.S. mens team, that's gunning because of its first Olympic precious metal medal inside company competitors (Monday from 11:30 a.m. ET) considering that 1984. He go back from that tips vacation to become that top rated American finisher (fifth) along at the World Championships, aiding the actual U.S. win the actual bronze medal. Then with June they claimed the particular U.S. national concept inside St. Louis, edging protecting champ Danell Leyva through .05 of any point. At the actual Olympic trial three 2 or 3 weeks after in San Jose, your dog complete minute that will Leyva by way of only a point.

Orozco's ability as well as the excitement adjoining the pup in the lead-up for you to London he's happen to be included in a tunes video tutorial by way of the actual band Gym Class Heroes along with name-checked inside a presentation simply by Michelle Obama would suggest of which his location inside the Olympics has been practically preordained. But to be a Puerto Rican through the Bronx who has the child associated with a retired sanitation technician and a replace teacher, Orozco is definitely an outlier in the usually suburban, upper middle-class sport. For the Silent Ninja, acquiring success has been very little sure thing.

During among their very first excursions on the Olympic Training Center while a small teenager, the particular dark-skinned Orozco declined a bit of chocolates dessert offered by means of considered one of their peers. Another gymnast asked, "What, you don't feed on your special kind?" Another time, certainly one of his / her friends spoke up whenever Orozco ended up being questioned when dwelling was: "He's coming from Africa or something." At crowd camping upon the East Coast, a young child as soon as told Orozco, "Get from the me, this mother claimed dark individuals carry diseases."

Even in the New York City melting pot, kids at school would explain to John, "Oh, gymnastics, that is definitely gay." He'd merely retract his / her eyes and get them, "Can people accomplish some sort of backflip?"