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Greatest American Male Gymnasts

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:41:05 PST

Paul Hamm

Very strong on all apparatus, it is no surprise that Paul Hamm is a three-time US National all-around champion (2002-2004). In the 2003 World championships held in Anaheim, he became the very first American male gymnast to capture the world all-around title. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he also became the first and only American male gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gold by the closest margin (0.012) in Olympic history. His Olympic all-around gold would subsequently be called into question on account of a scoring issue. The South Korean bronze medallist Yang Tae Young was erroneously given a start value of 9.9 instead of 10.0 in the parallel bars; and the resulting difference was the difference between the bronze and the gold medal. After much deliberation that even reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the final verdict issued was that the results would remain as it was. Hamm also won the 2003 World title on floor, three team silvers (2002 and 2003 Worlds, 2004 Olympics), a silver on high bar (2004 Olympics) and a bronze on floor (2002 Worlds), making him the most bemedalled American male gymnast. He qualified for a spot on the 2008 US Olympic gymnastics team in the hope to securing a less controversial gold but had to withdraw two weeks prior to the Games due to aggravated hand and shoulder injury.

Kurt Thomas

Kurt Thomas was a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In 1978 World championship, he became the first American male gymnast to gain the floor exercise gold medal in a major international competition. He would go on to win six medals at the 1979 World championship: gold medals on floor and horizontal bar; silvers in the all-around, pommel horse and parallel bars; and a team bronze. His dream of winning a few gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics was dashed as the US government boycotted the Games. He created a skill known as the "Thomas flare," which is still a very popular skill among modern gymnasts performed on pommel horse and sometimes on floor exercise.

Peter Vidmar

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which the Soviet bloc nations boycotted except for Romania, Peter Vidmar proved himself not only as one of the world's great gymnasts but also an exceptional leader as well. He captained the US men's gymnastics team to its first ever Olympic gold medal in a dramatic upset over the defending world champions, the People's Republic of China. He went on to capture the all-around silver becoming the first American male gymnast to win an individual all-around Olympic medal; and the pommel horse gold medal.

Bart Conner

A member of the gold medal-winning team at the 1984 Games, Bart Conner placed sixth in the individual all-around and won the gold on the parallel bars event finals with a perfect 10 score. He was also the world champion on parallel bars and the bronze medallist on vault at the 1979 World championships. Having been the 1978 NCAA all-around champion and the 1979 US National champion, he is the only American male gymnast to earn gold medals in all levels of competition--collegiate, national and international.

Mitch Gaylord

Mitch Gaylord first delighted the world as part of the gold-winning US Olympic gymnastics team at the 1984 Games, by becoming the first American gymnast to score a perfect 10. In addition, he went on to earn a silver on vault and two bronzes on rings and parallel bars. He invented two high bar techniques that are still being performed by many gymnasts today, the Gaylord Flip and the Gaylord II. They are still considered to be among the most difficult and spectacular skills in gymnastics.

Peter Kormann

Clinching a bronze on floor event finals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he became the first American gymnast to medal in a major international competition in forty-four years. Since retiring from competition, he has served as Head Gymnastics Coach at Ohio State University from 1989 to1996, as well as Head Coach of the U.S. Men's Olympic team (1996, 2000) and World Championship team (1995, 1997, 1999).

Trent Dimas

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Trent Dimas was considered a dark horse to win the gold as it was widely believed that his compulsory performance on high bar was underscored. So he displayed his absolute best in his optional routine and qualified for his best event when both his compulsory and optional score were added. His winning routine was truly spectacular with a triple-somersault dismount perfectly landed. His gold medal was the lone gold medal awarded to an American gymnast at the Games; it was also the first ever gold medal received by a US Olympic gymnast, male or female, in a non-boycotted Olympics in sixty years.

Blaine Wilson

Though Blaine Wilson did not win any individual World or Olympic medals, he has impressive credentials. He was a thirteen-time US National team member, five-time US National champion, five-time American Cup champion, a three-time Olympian, three-time World team member, 1998 Goodwill Games All-Around Bronze Medallist, and 2004 Athens Olympic Silver Medallist in team competition. He did come close to winning a World all-around medal when he placed fourth at the 1999 World championship, missing the bronze medal by only one-thousandth of a point (0.001). His total score was essentially the same as the score of the bronze medallist, with the difference attributable only to rounding-off discrepancy. (I guess that the International Gymnastics Federation does not know their arithmetic, as the same thing happened at the 2005 World championship when another American gymnast, Nastia Liukin, missed the all-around gold by the same margin.)

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10 Greatest Male Gymnasts in History

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:45:38 PST

My criteria for making the list are: a.) the gymnast must have won at least one all-around World or Olympic title; and b.) he must also have at least two World or Olympic titles on any apparatus. (For those who are dissatisfied that their beloved idols were not included, I apologize for I know there are many gymnasts who did not both criteria but are very much regarded as great gymnasts as well, like Andreas Wecker, Valeri Belenky, Koji Gushiken, Li Ning, Valeri Liukin, Li Xiaoshuang, and many more.)

Vitaly Scherbo (USSR/Unified Team/Belarus)

The greatest gymnast of all time, having won World/Olympic gold medals in the all-around and on every apparatus. In fact, he won six gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (Team, all-around, pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars) and the 1993 World all-around, floor exercise and parallel bars title. His brash personality and strange capability to come up with exceptional performances when it most mattered gained him instant popularity with worldwide audiences.

Alexei Nemov (Russia)

The 2000 Athens Olympic all-around and high bar champion. Having won a total of twenty five World championship and Olympic medals (nine golds, six silvers and 10 bronzes), he is surely one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. His showmanship and his well-rounded gymnastic routines which were characterized by complicated acrobatic skills, elegance and flawless technique had gained him a lot of fans.

Nikolai Andrianov (USSR/Russia)

A three-time Olympian (1972, 1976 and 1980). He won a total of fifteen Olympic medals, including gold in the all-around, floor exercise, rings and vault in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Described as a natural gymnast, he won every major competition there was, including the World Cup, European Championships, and the World Championships (1978).

Boris Shakhlin (USSR/Russia)

One of the most successful Olympians, having won thirteen medals in three successive Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964), seven of which are gold including the 1960 all-around, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars and high bar titles. He was also the 1958 World all-around champion. He got the nickname "Man of Iron" for his strong determination and consistent performance.

Vladimir Artemov (USSR/Russia)

His impressive career spanning a period of six years from 1983 to 1989 includes a combined total of eighteen World and Olympic medals, ten of which are gold medals that include the all-around, parallel bars and high bar titles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He is well remembered for his impeccable technique on parallel bars, an event in which he won three world titles (1983, 1987, and 1989). He also finished second in the all-around at the 1985 World Championships and 3rd in the all-around at the 1987 World Championships.

Dmitry Bilozerchev (USSR/Russia)

The boy wonder of gymnastics. By winning the 1983 world all-around, vault, rings, and pommel horse title at a tender age of sixteen, he became the youngest ever male world champion in the history of gymnastics. He also made a miraculous comeback by winning the 1987 world all-around, high bars and rings title after two years recuperating from a serious auto accident that crashed his leg, proving his determination and love for the sport. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he earned bronze in the all-around and gold medals on both pommel horse and rings.

Yuri Korolev (USSR/Russia)

One of the most gifted gymnast that the former Soviet Union ever produced. He won the 1981 and 1985 World all-around championship including titles on floor exercise, rings and vault. With his individual World Championship and World Cup medals tally of twenty one, he is without question the most decorated non-Olympian (male or female) gymnast of all time. He could have been the greatest gymnast in history had not the USSR boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and an Achilles tendon injury prevented him from competing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Alexander Dityatin (USSR/Russia)

At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he medalled in every gymnastics events, eight in all (including gold medals in the all-around and rings), setting the Olympic record for the most medals won in one Olympic games, a record that still stands today, tied only with Michael Phelps, who achieved the feat at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He was also the 1979 World all-around, vault, and rings champion.

Yuri Titov (USSR/Russia)

The 1962 World all-around and rings champion and the 1958 World champion on vault. During the course of his competitive career that span three Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964), he won a total of nine Olympic medals, ten World championship medals and an astonishing fourteen European medals.

Sawao Kato (Japan)

The 1968 and 1972 Olympic all-around champion. Participating also in three Olympics, he earned a total of twelve medals, eight of which are gold medals that include titles on floor exercise and parallel bars, making him one of the most successful gymnasts in Olympic history and the best Japanese Olympian.

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