Looking at the lives of these three young gymnasts, it would be hard pressed not to become inspired by the bleak odds each overcame in order to fulfill their dreams of traveling to the 2012 Olympics. It’s not only their skills that brought them to London, but their heart. Each of these young men have this in common. The Olympics. To these young men, the path to creating a better life is by competing in the Olympic games.
John Orozco – USA
John Orozco’s dream was nearly just a dream. The youngest of five children, his parents William and Damaris Orozco often struggled to make ends meet. His father, William worked for the US department of Sanitation for 24 years but was forced into early retirement just shy of receiving his pension,due to a stroke. His mother, Damaris faced numerous health problems, needed multiple surgeries and at times was confined to a wheel chair. She nearly lost her life at one point due to an internal infection.
Money became so tight at one point that the Orozco’s fell behind on the $400 monthly payments to the gym where John practiced. They eventually told John’s coach, Carl Schrade that they could no longer afford the payments and he would have to quit.”That kid was going to stay in the gym no matter what I had to do or say,” says Schrade. “He was on another level.” Schrade explained the situation to the gym’s owner who waived the tuition on one condition that John never skip a practice.
John’s practices went from twice a week to six and seven days a week. The Orozco’s drove the thirty mile trip from Bronx to Chappaqua, NY every day. To save money in gas, they would stay at the gym. If they felt he wasn’t giving it his all, they would let him know from the sidelines. They would drive to every competition, no matter how far. If it was a multi day trip, they would sleep in their van giving John a mattress that they set up in the back. They did stay in hotels, but only if the room had a kitchen so they could cook meals and not have to dine out. To them, the sacrifices were well worth it. John was a natural born talent and not many doubted he was going places.
Which isn’t to say he didn’t face his share of cruelty from his peers. Traditionally gymnastics is known as a white bread, upper middle-class sport, and needless to say John was very much an outsider. One of his first times at the Olympic Training Center the Puerto Rican, dark skinned Orozco was offered a piece of chocolate cake that he declined. Another gymnast replied, “What, you don’t eat your own kind?” At another time another gymnast at an elite East Coast camp and young gymnast told Orozoco “Get away from me, my mother said black people carry diseases.” Classmates would tell him that gymnastics was “gay.”
All of the struggle and sacrifice has been worth it. Specializing in artistic gymnastics, floor exercises, pommel horse, still rings, vault and his favorites, the parallel and horizontal bars, Orozoco went on to win championship after championship as a junior gymnast. At age fifteen he was the Jr Olympic National Champ and has held the US Men’s Junior title for the past three years. In 2010 he was named one Sports Illustrated’s “Stars of Tomorrow.”
Through the highs, John still couldn’t get away from the dark cloud that seemed to constantly follow his family. In 2007, John was in San Jose for the Visa Championships when his father William suffered a stroke at home in New York city. William was unable to walk, talk, or see out of his left eye. John was devastated and wanted to return home. Through the encouragement of his parents John stayed and competed in the competition and won his first junior national all-around title. His father eventually recovered. Then in 2010 he landed short on a vault routine and tore his Achilles tendon.
John Orozoco’s drive and determination have now brought him to London to compete for a medal in the Olympics for the first time. He sees the sport as a way for a better life for himself and his family.
Louis Smith – Great Britain
As a toddler, Louis Smith was diagnosed with ADHD. By the time he was three he was so active, he had already broken his wrist, arm and elbow. His hairdresser mum, searched for an activity for him to channel his energy through. He tried swimming, football, golf, roller skating and basketball. But it was gymnastics that finally stuck.
As a single parent, Elaine had little money. But she was dedicated to her children, “We’re not extravagant people,’ Elaine says. ‘I don’t go out, don’t smoke, don’t drink. It just went on the children” She didn’t date and dedicated her time strictly to making a good life for her children.
Despite the financial odds not being in his favor, Louis has gone on to become Britain’s first Olympic champion. In the 2007 Beijing Olympics, he earned the Bronze medal in his specialty, men’s pommel. World Championship after World Championship the Peterborough native breezed through qualifications and first place finishes, even with several injuries. During the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo, Smith took on the most difficult pommel routine in the world, that included the technically difficult “triple Russian” element. He had a slight slip on the dismount and won the Bronze medal.
Financial worries and injuries did not interfere with Louis Smith’s success. He has a tattoo on his back that reads, “What I deserve, I earn.” Nothing could be more appropriate, as he competes for the opportunity to make history at the 2012 London Olympics.
Kieran Behan – Ireland
Ireland has had only two gymnasts ever to qualify for the Olympics. One of the gymnasts is Kieran Behan, who was told at one point that he would never walk again after an operation that went wrong.
Behan first became interested in gymnastics after being enthralled during a television broadcast of an event. When he was eight he began lessons and showed amazing promise as a tumbler. At age ten, a benign tumor was found in Behan’s leg. During the surgery the doctor left the tourniquet on too long and too tight causing extensive nerve damage. He was hardly able to walk and the slightest touch to his leg hurt. However, fifteen months later he was back in the gym practicing.
Just eight months later, Kieran smacked his head on a metal horizontal bar during a routine causing severe damage to the vestibular canal of his inner ear and a traumatic brain injury. The slightest movement could trigger a blackout. He struggled to turn his head, to feed himself and couldn’t walk without stumbling. It would be two years before he regained back his hand, eye coordination.
Again, Behan persevered. And continued to create the path to his Olympic dreams. His family also struggled to pay for his lessons and held several fund raisers to help pay for them. Then in 2011 he won three World Cup medals including Ireland’s first World Cup medal in the floor exercise. While again suffering through many other injuries; a broken arm, fractured wrist, and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee which required six months of rehab.
Kieran Behan fought his way to the 2012 London Olympics and is thrilled that he had the opportunity to have a chance to qualify. Of course once again competing with an injury; a torn rotator cuff, that he tore just before leaving for London. This did not stop the scrappy Irish gymnast from giving his all. Although Behan did not qualify to compete for a medal, it was apparent that he made his country proud. But his hope is that all will be inspired by his ability to overcome adversity.
