Kurt Thomas (gymnast)

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Kurt Thomas
Full nameKurt Bilteaux Thomas
Born(1956-03-29)March 29, 1956
Men's artistic gymnastics
Medal record
Men's gymnastics
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1978 Strasbourg Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place 1979 Ft. Worth Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place 1979 Ft. Worth Horizontal bar
Silver medal – second place 1979 Ft. Worth All-around
Silver medal – second place 1979 Ft. Worth Parallel bars
Silver medal – second place 1979 Ft. Worth Pommel horse
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Ft. Worth Team competition
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1975 Mexico City Pommel horse
Silver medal – second place 1975 Mexico City Vault
Bronze medal – third place 1975 Mexico City All-around
Bronze medal – third place 1975 Mexico City Horizontal bar
American Cup
Gold medal – first place 1978 New York All-around
Gold medal – first place 1979 New York All-around
Gold medal – first place 1980 New York All-around

Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (March 29, 1956 – June 5, 2020) was an American Olympic gymnast and part-time actor. In 1978, he became the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (world championships).[1] In 1979, he won six medals at the world championship, setting the record for most medals won at a single world championship by an American gymnast, a feat matched only by Simone Biles in 2018. He competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[1] Thomas was favored to win a medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete due to the USA boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games.[2]

Early life

Thomas was born in

1977 National Championship.[3]

Career

Thomas earned All-America honors 13 times in his career. He was the James E. Sullivan award winner in 1979, as well as the 1979

Heisman" of men's gymnastics) awardee.[5][6]

Thomas first competed as a member of the U.S. Olympic team at the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[3][1]

Since the Olympics' strict amateurism rules at the time would have forced him to forgo many lucrative financial opportunities, Thomas elected not to attempt to compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics.[9] With professionals allowed to compete by the time of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Thomas attempted a comeback.[3] Despite his advanced age for a gymnast, he was able to make it to the 1992 United States Men's Gymnastics Olympic Trials, but his performance there fell short of what was needed to make the team.[7]

Signature moves

Three gymnastic moves were named for him, the

salto with 1.5 twist into a roll out (a difficult and dangerous skill even by today's standards), and the Thomas on High Bar.[1][10] The Thomas flair on pommel horse, and then also performed on floor, was developed over years by several pommel horse specialists.[11] However, in gymnastics, new moves are named in the gymnastics rule book after the gymnast who is the first to perform the move in international competition.[12]

Film and television work

Thomas featured in the 1985 film

ABC Sports[14] and ESPN.[8]

Personal life

In 1996, Thomas married Rebecca Jones, a dancer who choreographs gymnastic routines.[15] They had two children, Hunter and Kassidy. Thomas had a son from a previous marriage, Kurt Travis.[3][16] Thomas and his wife ran the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Training Center in Frisco, Texas. Since 2003, their gym has hosted the annual Kurt Thomas International Invitational gymnastics meet, a competition endorsed by USA Gymnastics.[15]

Thomas was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2003.[17] He was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1990, the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2010.[9]

Thomas died on June 5, 2020, at the age of 64. He suffered a stroke on May 24, brought about by a tear of the basilar artery in his brain stem two weeks before his death.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Kurt Thomas, first U.S. man to win a world gymnastics title, dies at 64". ESPN. ESPN News Services. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e Goldstein, Richard (June 7, 2020). "Kurt Thomas, Trailblazing Champion Gymnast, Dies at 64". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Haring, Bruce (June 7, 2020). "Kurt Thomas Dies: First American To Win Gymnastics Gold And Actor Was 64". Deadline. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  5. ^ ":: USA Gymnastics :: Nissen Emery Award ::". Archived from the original on August 23, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "Kurt Thomas - Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame - GoSycamores.com—Official Web Site of Indiana State Athletics". Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  7. ^ a b c "Kurt Thomas, first US man to win world gym title, dies at 64". Associated Press. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Kurt Thomas (2011) – Hall of Fame". Missouri Valley Conference. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Woods, David (June 7, 2020). "Indiana State's Kurt Thomas, gymnast denied 1980 glory, dies". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Skills Named for U.S. Gymnasts Archived 2018-12-21 at the Wayback Machine // USA Gymnastics
  11. ^ "Who Really Invented the Flair" (PDF). International Gymnast Magazine. October 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
  12. ^ McCarriston, Shanna (October 8, 2019). "Simone Biles has two new signature moves that will be named after her following world championships performance". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Rabin, Nathan (April 9, 2012). "Gymkata proves that tiny gymnasts make tough heroes". A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Gymn Forum: Kurt Thomas Biography". www.gymn-forum.net.
  15. ^ a b "Former ISU, Olympic athlete Kurt Thomas named to MVC Hall of Fame". Indiana State University. February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "Lead Singer Syndrome". Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  17. ^ "KURT THOMAS". International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 5, 2009.

External links

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