"Orozco is 5 feet 4 inches, maybe a smidge more, and weighs 160 pounds — “a little muscle ball,” he said. In a world where gymnasts teeter on that beam between strength and agility, Orozco is a rare combination of power and grace.
“He does things that are, like, physically impossible,” Hebert said. “He’ll just defy gravity and all laws of gymnastics.”
Led by Hebert and coach Carl Schrade, Orozco flew through the junior ranks, winning three consecutive national titles in the all-around before tearing his right Achilles’ tendon on a dismount during the 2010 meet in Hartford. On the mend a few months later, he moved to Colorado Springs to live and train.
Under the tutelage of Vitaly Marinitch, a Ukrainian who was part of the 1989 world champion Soviet Union team, Orozco has fine-tuned his technique and improved his strength and diet.
“I was a pizza monster,” Orozco admitted.
His Achilles’ tendon is still tender, and Orozco feels it during floor routines and on landings from the high bar. But something positive came from the injury, too. During the early months of rehabilitation, limited by what he could do on his feet, Orozco turned the pommel horse from his worst event to one of his best."
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/sports/john-orozco-from-the-bronx-to-london-as-a-top-gymnastic-hopeful.html?_r=1
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