Larry Gerard

Last updated
Larry Gerard
Country represented United States
College team Nebraska Cornhuskers

Larry Gerard is a former American artistic gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He was selected for the 1980 Olympics but was unable to participate due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.

Gerard's mother died of a blood disease when he was three years old and his father later died of a heart attack in 1965. [1] He lived with his stepmother until she kicked him out at 16. [1] Larry's brother, Alex, had previously attended Lincoln Southeast High School and was a state champion gymnast and Gerard followed in his footsteps. [1] Gerard won the Nebraska state all-around title in 1974 and was considered one of the greatest athletes in Lincoln Southeast High School history. [1]

He later attended University of Nebraska–Lincoln and was a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics team. [2] Gerard was nominated for the Nissen-Emery Award in 1979 as one of the best collegiate men's artistic gymnasts in the country. [3] Gerard placed fifth in the all-around at the 1979 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship en route to the Cornhuskers' first NCAA title. [4] He finished his Nebraska career as a seven-time NCAA All-American. [2] [4]

At the 1980 U.S. Olympic trials, Gerard made the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team with Nebraska teammates Phil Cahoy and Jim Hartung. [2] The trio were unable to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding twenty-four varsity teams in fifteen sports. Nineteen of these teams participate in the Big Ten, while rifle is a member of the single-sport Patriot Rifle Conference and beach volleyball and bowling compete as independents. The Cornhuskers have two official mascots, Herbie Husker and Lil' Red.

Peter Glen Vidmar is an American gymnast and two-time Olympic gold medalist. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won gold in the team final and pommel horse, and silver in the individual all-around.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Conner</span> American gymnast

Barthold Wayne Conner is a retired American Olympic gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Oklahoma, along with his wife, Romanian Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci. In addition, both Comăneci and Conner are highly involved with the Special Olympics.

Kurt Bilteaux Thomas was an American Olympic gymnast and part-time actor. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and in 1978 he became the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball</span> Mens basketball team of the University of Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The program's first year of competition was 1897, and NU has since compiled an all-time record of 1,535–1,417, with eight NCAA tournament and sixteen NIT appearances. The team has been coached by Fred Hoiberg since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Spring</span> American artistic gymnast

Justin Edward Spring is a retired American gymnast. He is a member of the bronze medal winning U.S. team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He was also a top gymnast in NCAA competition, where he represented the University of Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics</span>

The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Since being established in 1939, the program has won eight national championships, finished as the national runner-up seven times, and won forty-two NCAA event titles. Ten Huskers have gone on to represent the United States in the Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics</span>

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Since being established in 1975, the program has won twenty-three conference championships and qualified for the NCAA women's gymnastics tournament twenty-seven times. The Cornhuskers have had five individual national champions and 163 total All-Americans.

Steven Legendre is an American gymnast who competed for the University of Oklahoma Sooners men's gymnastics team from 2008 to 2011 and is a member of the U.S. National Team.

James Hartung is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Fighting Illini men's gymnastics</span>

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team represents the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Fighting Illini have been invited to 47 NCAA tournaments and have won 10 team NCAA championships, which is second most all-time only to Penn State Nittany Lions' 12 team titles. Additionally, the Fighting Illini have won an all-time record 53 individual NCAA titles.

Richelle Aiko Simpson is a retired Canadian artistic gymnast and current acrobat for the renowned Cirque du Soleil company. An elite level gymnast for five years, representing the Canadian National Team at both Pan American Games and the World Championships competitions during that period, Simpson enjoyed her career highlights as an NCAA collegiate student-athlete – competing as a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics program. She remains one of the program's finest ever gymnasts, holding a total of four individual school records. Additionally, she was the first Nebraska gymnast to receive first-team All-American awards in all five events, and is one of only two Nebraska gymnasts to win an NCAA National all-around title – an accomplishment she achieved in 2003.

Francis Allen was head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics team from 1969 to 2009. Those 40 years make him the longest tenured head coach in the history of Nebraska Cornhuskers athletics. He has coached his men's gymnastics team to eight NCAA National Championship titles. He was the head coach for two Men's Olympic Gymnastics Teams and coached nine gymnasts who competed in the Olympics.

Steven Keith Hug is an American former artistic gymnast who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. Hug was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed in two Olympic Games and the 1974 World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Bower</span> American gymnast

Allan Bower is an American artistic gymnast. A member of the United States men's national gymnastics team, he represented the United States at the 2018 American Cup and the 2017 Cottbus World Cup. Domestically, he finished second in the all-around at the 2017 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships and third at the 2018 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. Bower was a member of the Oklahoma Sooners men's gymnastics team from 2014 to 2017, winning three National team titles with the Sooners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Briones</span> American artistic gymnast

Brandon Robert Briones is an American artistic gymnast. He is the 2018 Youth Olympic vault champion and was a reserve athlete for the 2020 Olympic men's gymnastics team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Nedoroscik</span> American gymnast (born 1998)

Stephen John Nedoroscik is an American artistic gymnast. A pommel horse specialist, he is the 2021 World Champion – the first and only American to win the event – a two-time FIG World Cup champion, a four-time United States National Champion, and two-time NCAA National Champion, for the apparatus. He is a member of the United States men's national gymnastics team, and represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics where he won a bronze medal in the team event and on the pommel horse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brody Malone</span> American gymnast (born 2000)

John Brody Malone is an American artistic gymnast. He represented the United States at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics and is a three-time United States national all-around champion. On horizontal bar, he is the 2021 World Championships bronze medalist and the 2022 World Champion. He is a ten-time NCAA National Champion, and a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Shane Michael Wiskus is an American artistic gymnast who represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and has been named as an alternative for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Additionally, he represented the United States at the 2019 World Championships and is a three-time NCAA Champion.

Curtis Holdsworth is a former American artistic gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 York, Randy (April 6, 1979). "Huskers take lead in NCAA". Lincoln Journal Star . p. 19. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Nagel, Cody (March 9, 2017). "After diplomatic issues, former Huskers compete on Team USA in Iran". The Daily Nebraskan . Lincoln, Nebraska . Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  3. "Nissen-Emery Award". usagym.org. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "HUSKER OLYMPIANS". huskers.com. Retrieved September 6, 2023.