| Jason Gatson | |
| Full Name: | Jason Gatson |
| Country: | United States |
| Birth Date: | 25 June 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
| Height: | 165 cm |
| Weight: | 72 kg |
| Discipline: | MAG |
| Natlteam: | 1997–2000, 2002–2007 |
| Gym: | USOTC Team Chevron |
| Eponymousskills: | Gatson 1 (Parallel bars) Gatson 2 (Parallel bars) |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
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.
Gatson competed in his first World Championship in 1997 at the age of 17, where he placed 5th with Team USA and 22nd in the all-around. He was considered by many to be the next champion for the US team, but injuries and other struggles cost him a chance for the 2000 Olympic team.
Injuries would continue to be a problem for Gatson, but in 2003 he finished second in the US national championships and qualified to 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 would battle a back injury heading into the 2004 Olympic trials. Still, he was able to make the Olympic team despite not competing on all of the events. At the 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.
His knee injuries were featured on the season 2 8th episode on, titled "Pentagon Survivor".
Jason's younger brother, Brandon Gatson, is a professional wrestler.[1] [2]
Gatson has two named elements on the parallel bars.[3] [4]
| Apparatus | Name | Description | Difficulty | 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 |