The Best Male Artistic Gymnasts
Some of the most well-known American gymnasts are:- Kurt Thomas: First American to become a world champion (1978; floor), won four medals at the 1979 worlds (gold: floor; silver: all-around, pommel horse, parallel bars)
- Bart Conner: 2-time Olympic gold medalist (1984)
- Mitch Gaylord: 4-time Olympic medalist (1984), star of the movie American Anthem
- Tim Daggett: Olympic gold medalist (1984, team), commentator for NBC Sports
- John Roethlisberger: 3-time Olympian (1992-2000), 4-time US national champion (1990, 1992, 1993, 1995)
- Blaine Wilson: 5-time US national champion (1996-2000)
- Paul Hamm: First American man to become an all-around world champion (2003) and first to become an Olympic all-around champion (2004)
The most accomplished foreign competitors include:
- Sawao Kato (Japan): 8-time Olympic gold medalist (1968-1976)
- Mitsou Tsukahara (Japan): 5-time Olympic gold medalist (1968-1976), invented the “Tsukahara” style of vaulting
- Nikolai Andrianov (the former USSR): 7-time Olympic gold medalist (1972-1980), 4-time world gold medalist (1974, 1978, 1979)
- Li Ning (China): 3-time Olympic gold medalist (1984)
- Dimitry Bilozerchev (the former USSR): 3-time Olympic gold medalist (1988)
- Valeri Liukin (the former USSR): 4-time Olympic medalist (1988), credited as the first to perform a triple back on floor, and father/coach of 2008 star Nastia Liukin
- Vitaly Scherbo (the former USSR, Belarus): 6-time Olympic gold medalist (1992), 4-time Olympic bronze medalist (1996)
- Alexei Nemov (Russia): 12-time Olympic medalist (1996, 2000)
- Yang Wei (China): 2-time world all-around champion (2006, 2007), 2008 Olympic all-around champion
