Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Jason Gatson

Jason Gatson
Born (1980-06-25) June 25, 1980 (age 44)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight159 lb (72 kg)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Country representedUnited States
Years on national team1997–2000, 2002–2007
GymUSOTC
Team Chevron
Eponymous skillsGatson 1 (Parallel bars)
Gatson 2 (Parallel bars)

Jason Gatson (born June 25, 1980) is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won an Olympic silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Gymnastics career

Gatson competed in his first World Championship in 1997 at 17 years old, placing 5th in the team all-around and 22nd in the individual all-around. Many considered him the next champion for the US team, but injuries and other struggles cost him a chance on the 2000 Olympic team.

Injuries continued to be a problem for Gatson, but in 2003 he finished second in the US national championships and qualified for the World Championship team, where he and his fellow team members won a silver medal in the team competition. He also competed in the all-around final and still rings final, finishing 8th and 7th, respectively.

Gatson battled a back injury heading into the 2004 Olympic trials. Still, he was able to make the Olympic team despite not competing in all of the events. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Gatson and his team won a silver medal behind Japan. In team finals, Gatson scored 9.825 on his parallel bars routine, the highest score of the day on that apparatus.

Personal life

His knee injuries were featured on the season 2 8th episode on Impact: Stories of Survival, titled "Pentagon Survivor".

Jason's younger brother, Brandon Gatson, is a professional wrestler.[1][2]

Eponymous skills

Gatson has two named elements on the parallel bars.[3][4]

Gymnastics elements named after Jason Gatson
Apparatus Name Description Difficulty[a] Added to Code of Points
Parallel bars Gatson 1 "Swing bwd. with 1/1 t. hop to handstand." E, 0.5 1997
Gatson 2 "Gatson 1 with ¼ t to handstand on 1 rail and ¼ t. handstand on 2 rails." E, 0.5 2003
  1. ^ Valid for the 2025–2028 Code of Points

References

  1. ^ Alvarez, Bryan (September 5, 2010). "PWG Battle of LA Night One report". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 6, 2010. Gatson was a gymnast and dancer (Google him) and his brother was an Olympian, so he's far more agile than you'd think looking at him.
  2. ^ Csonka, Larry (July 31, 2007). "Even More WWE News: Hardy No Shows Raw, Identity of Jobbers". 411Mania. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  3. ^ "Table of Named Elements Men's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). gymnastics.sport. December 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "Men's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025–2028" (PDF). gymnastics.sport. July 3, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.