Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the Code of Points used to score performances and regulates all aspects of elite international competition. Within individual countries, gymnastics is regulated by national federations such as British Gymnastics and USA Gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics is a popular spectator sport at many competitions, including the Summer Olympic Games.
Béla Károlyi is a former gymnastics coach and an ethnic Hungarian Romanian-American. Early in his coaching career he developed the Romanian centralized training system for gymnastics. One of his earliest protégés was Nadia Comăneci, the first Olympic Games gymnast to be awarded a perfect score. Living under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, Károlyi frequently clashed with Romanian officials. He and his wife defected to the United States in 1981.
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.
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.
Mitchell Jay Gaylord is an American gymnast, actor, and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team.
Valeri Viktorovich Liukin is a Kazakh-American retired artistic gymnast currently working as a gymnastics coach. Representing the former Soviet Union, Liukin was the 1988 Olympic champion in the team competition and individually on the horizontal bar, and Olympic silver medalist in the all-around and the parallel bars.
Timothy Patrick Daggett is a former American gymnast and an Olympic gold medalist. He is a graduate of West Springfield High School and UCLA, who competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, along with Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar and Mitch Gaylord. There, Daggett scored a perfect 10 on the horizontal bar, assisting his team in winning a gold medal – the first for the U.S. men's gymnastics team in Olympic history. In addition to team gold, he earned an individual bronze medal on the pommel horse. In 2005, he was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Abraham Israel "Abie" Grossfeld is an American gymnastics coach and former gymnast. Grossfeld represented the United States as a gymnast for 15 consecutive years in 35 countries as a member of 26 international United States men's national artistic gymnastics teams including the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Pan American Games.
Trent Dimas is a Hispanic American gymnast and Olympic champion. Now retired, Dimas was an elite senior level international artistic gymnast.
George Julius Gulack was an American gymnast and Olympic champion and was involved in gymnastics administration for both the American Athletic Union and the Olympic Committee. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles where he received a gold medal on the rings.
Vladimir Nikolaevich Artemov is a former Russian artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion who competed for the Soviet Union. He is considered to be one of the greatest parallel bars workers of all time.
Diane Simpson is an American athlete, an Olympian and an eight-time Rhythmic gymnastics national team member, and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Class of 2004. She is a media marketing communications consultant and project manager who writes, produces and manages talent, events and operations logistics / hospitality for clients, sponsors and stakeholders.
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.
Charles Lakes is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and participated in the 1988 Olympics.
Guard Wayne Young is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and was named three-times to the World Championships team, and contributed to a silver medal in the men's team competition in 2001. Three years later, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Young helped his U.S. squad to earn a silver medal in the same program, a best finish since 1984. During his college career, Young has earned six All-American and two NCAA titles in the men's vault. In 2010, Young was inducted to the sports hall of fame by the Brigham Young University.
The United States women's national artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in FIG international competitions.
Valerie Le Zimring-Schneiderman is a former Olympic rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and finished 11th in the individual all-around.
Makoto Douglas Sakamoto is a retired American artistic gymnast and coach. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He competed at the 1964 and 1972 Summer Olympics with the best individual result of 17th place on parallel bars in 1972. Domestically he won the AAU titles in the all-around and horizontal bar in 1963, in the all-around in 1964, and in all seven events in 1965.
Marshall Scott Avener is an American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics.
