Meet Hannah Horton: The Gymnastics Freshman Sensation Looking To Elevate The Tigers To New Heights

Four years ago, Hannah Horton had no plans to compete in college gymnastics. In fact, she left the sport she had competed in since she was nine years old during her freshman year of high school, right when many top gymnasts start to think about their college prospects.

But now, Horton is back in the gym not just competing in her favorite sport, but impressing as one of the top freshmen gymnasts in the nation with Mizzou Gymnastics. Through three meets, the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native has already logged 9.9s on both vault and floor, and she is primed to do much more than that during her years in Columbia.

Mizzou Athletics caught up with the star on the rise to chat about the adjustment to college gymnastics, the inspiration for her floor routine and what she hopes to achieve in her time with the Tigers. Here is what she had to say.

MA: You came back to gymnastics just a year and a half before you came to Mizzou. What led to you coming back to gymnastics?

HH: It was actually watching the 2020 Olympics, or I guess it was 2021. Watching that Olympics made me miss gymnastics, and at first, I was just gonna go back and just compete my last two years of high school. But my dad set my head straight and said,  ‘If you want to go back to gymnastics, you should want to do college.’

MA: What did it mean to have your family's belief that you could not only return to gymnastics, but compete well enough to be at the college level?

HH: I realized that my family actually believed in me, and they knew how hard I worked, especially before I quit. They knew how much I work put into gymnastics, and I also knew how much they invested in the sport for me. So I thought I should return the favor.

MA: What did you do in between when you stopped competing and then restarted competing? How did you keep yourself ready to go for when you returned?

HH: I did go to a couple workouts since the gym was closed due to COVID in 2020. I did a couple workouts there. And then I also did track during the time I wasn't in gymnastics, and that helped me stay in shape.

MA: What events did you compete in?

HH: I did 100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x200m relays and high jump.

MA: So you were more of a sprinter type?

HH: Yeah, I would just do short distance.

MA: Being from Minnesota and having some solid Big Ten programs around you, what led you to choosing Missouri?

HH: It was definitely because of the coaches. Shannon (Welker) was the first college coach to actually show interest initially and he also always checked up on me. You could tell that he wanted to create a bond with me, and also because of the program and how diverse the team was. During my visit, I could feel the team chemistry, and it just felt like a good place to be.

MA: Going into this first collegiate season, were there any goals that you set for yourself?

HH: A goal of mine is to compete all-around, and I hope it's coming soon. Also, a goal of mine is to be SEC Freshman of the Week.

MA: Let's talk about the season opener — the Mizzou Invitational. Ahead of that, how did it feel seeing your name as a starter for two events?

HH: It felt good because I know in other sports, the freshmen don't usually get to compete, especially in the opener. It just felt good because I'm putting in the work and everyone gets to see that.

MA: You finished up that first vault, got a 9.875 and won the event title. How did you feel after getting that first college routine out of the way?

HH: I felt happy. I wouldn't say relieved because I was excited for the next event of course. But yeah, I was happy seeing the score that I earned. 

MA: After that you got a 9.900 on floor. How did it feel for you, just three rotations later, to have completed your first career 9.9 routine?

HH: I know previously in the preseason, my dance on the floor just wasn't as expressive as it should be in college, and coaches told me ‘If you want to get a 9.9-plus, you need to be more expressive and show emotion.' So seeing that I got a 9.9 at that meet made me realize that the work I’d been putting in had started to pay off.

MA: How do you feel that your floor routine kind of exemplifies you? Obviously, you have ‘All of the Lights’ in there and you have some Rihanna mixed in. 

HH: I love music and I’ve loved Rihanna ever since I was a little kid. I really like how powerful her music is and how she is an independent woman, so that's what it represents to me.

MA: Are there any other favorite musicians that you have?

HH: I mostly listen to R&B. I really like Daniel Caesar. I like Beyonce, of course. I really like Tyler, The Creator, and there's this rapper named Smino, who's from St. Louis

MA: What has it been like settling into the life of a college student-athlete?

HH: It was definitely hard in the beginning being away from home. College is academically different from high school, but I feel like since I'm in my second semester, I have an idea of what to expect from the first semester. So now I know how to prepare myself.

MA: It seems like you, Jocelyn and Amari have formed a really tight-knit bond. How has it been having those two as older mentors on the team?

HH: It’s been great since they've been successful for their whole college careers. It's awesome to have them as older sisters. I can just ask them about everything and how to excel academically and athletically.

MA: What are some of your favorite places to go around Columbia?

HH: I really like boba, so I like going to Bubble Cup Tea Zone. And I go to Target a lot, but I feel like that’s an everywhere thing.

MA: Hey, you can’t leave a Minnesota company behind.

HH: Another place I like, Level Up, is good. I went there for my official visit. So I like to go bowling and play laser tag.

MA: Who's the best at bowling on the team?

HH: I’d say Kyra (Burns) was kind of good last time we played. I would say me, but I gotta be humble.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)