Kurt Thomas trivia | 40 facts about the famous Olympic gymnast

Kurt Thomas was and American Olympic gymnast. He died at the age of 64 on June 5th, 2020.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and athletic career.

1. His full name is Kurt Bilteaux Thomas
2. He was born on March 29, 1956
3. He died on June 5, 2020
4. Kurt Thomas was an American Olympic gymnast
5. He was the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (World Championships)
6. Thomas competed for Indiana State University
7. There he was a five-time NCAA champion
8. Winning the parallel bars and all-around in 1977 and parallel bars, horizontal bar and the all-around in 1979
9. Thomas helped lead the ISU men’s gymnastics team to the 1977 National Championship
10. He earned All-America honors 13 times in his career
11. Kurt Thomas was the James E. Sullivan award winner in 1979
12. As well as the 1979 Nissen Award (the “Heisman” of men’s gymnastics) awardee
13. He was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999
14. In 2010 he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2010
15. Thomas became a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics
16. In 1978, Thomas was the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal in floor exercise in a world championship
17. In 1979 he became the first gymnast to receive the James E. Sullivan Award for the best amateur athlete in the US
18. He earned six medals at the World Championships
19. These medals include gold on the horizontal bar and floor exercise, and silver in the all-around, parallel bars, and pommel horse
20. He was a favorite to win a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics
21. The 1980 Summer Oulympics were boycotted by the United States government and Jurt Thomas didn’t participate
22. Thomas elected not to attempt to compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics
23. With professionals allowed to compete by the time of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Thomas attempted a comeback
24. Despite his advanced age for a gymnast, he was able to make it to the 1992 United States Men’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials
25. His performance there fell short of what was needed to make the team
26. Two gymnastic moves were named for him
27. The Thomas Flair, a pommel horse move
28. And the Thomas salto, his signature skill on floor exercise, a tucked 1.5 backward salto with 1.5 twist into a roll out
29. The second one is a difficult and dangerous skill even by today’s standards
30. The Thomas Flair on pommel horse, and then also performed on floor, was developed over years by several Pommel Horse specialists
31. 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
32. In 1996, Thomas married Rebecca Jones, a dancer who also choreographs gymnastic routines
33. They had two children together, Kassidy and Hunter Thomas
34. Thomas also had a child from a previous marriage, singer Kurt Travis
35. In 2003, Thomas was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
36. He and his wife Rebecca operated the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Training Center in Frisco, Texas
37. His gym has hosted the USAG-sanctioned Kurt Thomas International Invitational gymnastics meet annually since 2003
38. Thomas died on June 5, 2020, at the age of 64
39. He suffered a stroke on May 24, two weeks before his death
40. The stroke brought about by a tear of the basilar artery in the brain stem