Kurt Thomas (gymnast)

Olympic medal record
Artistic Gymnastics
World Championships
Gold	1978 Strasbourg	Floor exercise
Gold	1979 Ft. Worth	Floor exercise
Gold	1979 Ft. Worth	Horizontal bar
Silver	1979 Ft. Worth	All-around
Silver	1979 Ft. Worth	Parallel bars
Silver	1979 Ft. Worth	Pommel horse
Bronze	1979 Ft. Worth	Team competition
Pan American Games
Silver	Mexico City 1975	Pommel horse
Silver	Mexico City 1975	Vault
Bronze	Mexico City 1975	All-around
Bronze	Mexico City 1975	Horizontal bar

Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (born March 29, 1956 in Miami, Florida) is an American Olympic gymnast.

While at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, Thomas became a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1978, Thomas was the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal in floor exercise in a world championship. In 1979 he became the first gymnast to receive the James E. Sullivan Award for the best amateur athlete in the US and earned six medals at the World Championships, including gold on the horizontal bar and floor exercise, and silver in the all-around, parallel bars, and pommel horse. He was expected by many to win a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, but the games were boycotted by the United States government. Two gymnastic moves were named for him^{[citation needed]}, the Thomas Flair, a pommel horse move and the Thomas salto, his signature skill on floor exercise, a tucked 1.5 backward salto with 1.5 twist into a roll out (a difficult and dangerous skill even by today's standards). The Thomas Flair on pommel horse, and then also performed on floor, was developed over years by several Pommel Horse specialists. But 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.

Thomas starred in the 1985 film Gymkata as an athlete sent by the US government to compete in a deadly competition called "The Game." The film was not a major hit, but has developed somewhat of a cult following. Thomas has also starred in the syndicated show True Confessions and has worked as a commentator for ESPN.

In 1996, Thomas married Rebecca Jones, a dancer who also choreographs gymnastic routines. They have 2 children together, named Kassidy and Hunter Thomas.

In 2003 Thomas was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. He and his wife currently operate the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Training Center in Frisco, Texas. His gym has hosted the USAG-sanctioned Kurt Thomas International Invitational gymnastics meet annually since 2003. Kurt Thomas was recently inducted into yet another Hall of Fame in 2011 and attended a fashion show featuring sports stars with his wife, Becky.

References

1. ^ "KURT THOMAS". International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_thomas.html. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
2. ^ "Who Really Invented the Flair". International Gymnast Magazine. http://www.hinsdale86.org/staff/mwanner/Alumni/Flair%20Article.pdf. Retrieved October, 1980. 

External links

• Kurt Thomas at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Center
• Kurt Thomas Invitational meet
• List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
• Kurt Thomas at the Internet Movie Database