LONDON — It was a Bronx bummer for the men’s gymnastics team.
Bronx native John Orozco became the goat yesterday as the U.S. collapsed before 15,500 fans at North Greenwich Arena, finishing fifth in the team competition after stamping itself as a medal favorite in qualifying.
Orozco wasn’t the only U.S. gymnast who came unglued, but his miscues were most flagrant, butchering the pommel horse routine and vault with embarrassing falls, leaving him misty-eyed on the pink mats. In his words, he “destroyed the routines.’’
“I don’t feel fantastic about it,’’ said Orozco, 19. “I can just look forward to the future.’’
At least Princes William and Harry had a grand old time because Great Britain wound up with the bronze. Originally the Brits were awarded silver, leaving the fans roaring and waving Union Jacks, but an ensuing scoring challenge by Japan bumped the hosts to third. It was Great Britain’s first men’s gymnastics team medal since 1912 – 100 years.
What happened to the U.S. was more stunning. The Americans figured to achieve their third straight Olympic team medal but finished at 269.952 — six points behind gold-medalist China and nearly two points out of third.
Orozco’s Olympics continue in the individual all-around event tomorrow. But there was so much golden hope entering yesterday after the men finished first in team qualifiers two days before.
It all vanished quickly. The U.S. was in last place of eight teams halfway through the six-event competition. The day began sloppily when Danell Leyva fell off the pommel horse, picking up a disastrous 13.4 score. Then Jon Horton put his hand down during a tumbling pass on the floor exercise.
As Orozco took to the pommel horse, he said his teammates’ mistakes probably weighed on his mind.
“I got on the pommel horse, I was like alright, ‘They fell, I feel like I got to do really well,’ ’’ Orozco said. “When I started really messing up, I just thought I’m just going to try to stay on and get through my routine. I’m not going to try to make it absolutely perfect. I was just trying to get through it.’’
He barely did, falling on his dismount after going through a routine slower than rush-hour traffic on the Deegan. He scored 12.73 — the worst score of the competition.
“We struggled on the first two apparatuses — little mistakes become big mistakes at the Olympic Games when you have all these great teams,’’ USA gymnastics president Steve Penny said. “The other countries did what they had to do.’’
After the pommel horse, Orozco’s day got worse with the vault, admittedly his worst event.
“I tried to go out there and not think about [the pommel horse],’’ he said. “I like to think it doesn’t get to me. But I guess it does.’’
Orozco was surprised he was chosen for five events. He said he landed only one vault perfectly since the squad got to London. Yesterday, he tripped and fell on a front handspring double twist, scoring a dismal 14.6. He looked devastated after the routine with his coach putting an arm around him.
“I didn’t think they’d put me on vault, I don’t have the best technique on the vault,’’ Orozco said. “I was a little worried about the vault. I wasn’t exactly confident going into the vault. I tried my best. That’s all I could do.’’
Orozco maintained his composure to finish out the event strong, with scores of 15.1 and 15.3 on the uneven bars and horizontal bar that drew roars from the USA fans.
“After the vault, for me, it was like, two routines have been destroyed,’’ Orozco said. “I wasn’t feeling great personally, but I tried to go in the uneven bars and high bars and finish up on a good note.’’
Orozco said his Bronx upbringing gave him the “tough exterior’’ to get him through the day. He’s fought off knife-wielding thugs and made it to the Olympics as the son of a sanitation worker.
He was so composed when meeting the press, his mates didn’t have to cheer him up.
“John’s a really strong guy,’’ Leyva said. “I don’t think he really needs too much cuddling. But we all were a little sad we didn’t do what we wanted to do. But we’re not done yet, and we’ll shake it off for the next thing.’’
Penny added, “I think they’ll pick themselves up fast. When you have an event like this today, you’re motivated to come back and prove you’re better than you showed. Our guys know they’re better than fifth place.”
The Ukraine contingent felt worse than USA. The meet concluded with Ukraine as the bronze medalist, but Japan challenged a pommel horse score minutes after the conclusion. As the fans filed out, Japan moved from fourth to second and Ukraine went from bronze to fourth.
As he left the arena, Ukraine coach Yuliy Kuksenkov remarked, “It’s difficult, but life is life. When you’re in [track], 100 meters is 100 meters. Sometimes in gymnastics, it’s 95 meters or 105 meters.’’