Kurt Thomas (Turner)

Kurt Thomas (Turner) medal table
do gymnastics
United States
World championships in apparatus gymnastics
gold	1978 Strasbourg	Floor exercise
gold	1979 Fort Worth	Floor exercise
gold	1979 Fort Worth	Horizontal bar
silver	1979 Fort Worth	Individual all-around
silver	1979 Fort Worth	Ingots
silver	1979 Fort Worth	Pommel horse
bronze	1979 Fort Worth	team

Kurt Bilteaux Thomas (born March 29, 1956 in Miami - † June 5, 2020 ) was an American gymnast . He was the first American to become world champion in artistic gymnastics.

Life

Kurt Thomas began gymnastics in high school at the age of 14. After several top placements at gymnastics festivals, Thomas was allowed to compete in the college championships of the NCAA in 1975 . In the individual all-around competition, he finished 9th. He also qualified for the Pan American Games in 1975 in Mexico City . There he won two silver medals (pommel horse and jump ) and two bronze medals (parallel bars and individual all-around).

In 1976 Thomas won the Olympic eliminations and was 4th in the all-around competition at the NCAA championship. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Thomas reached seventh place with the US team. In the individual all-around competition, he finished 21. For the device finals, he could not qualify. In the following year Thomas became three-time US champion (all-around, floor, horizontal bar), plus college champion in all-around and on the pommel horse. He won the International Romanian Championships in all-around competitions, the Blume Memorial and the Mardi Gras Invitational . Further top placements in the all- around competition were second places in the American Cup and in the four-country competition between the USA, Germany, Hungary and France.

1978 and 1979 were the most successful years in Kurt Thomas' career. In 1978 he won the American Cup , the US Championships and the US World Championship eliminations (all in all-around). There was also a quadruple triumph at the Windy City Invitationals (all around , ground, jump and pommel horse). At the Gymnastics World Championships in 1978 in Strasbourg , France , he reached fourth place with the team and 6th place in the all-around competition. His victory in floor exercise meant the first world title for an American gymnast. In the World Cup he took second place in the all-around, on the ground and on parallel bars, on the pommel horse he came in 3rd place.

In 1979 Thomas repeated the all-around victory at the American Cup . He also won the Mardi Gras Invitational , as well as the Pacific Championships. There were also three wins at the NCAA championships (all-around, horizontal bar, parallel bars) and two at the US Olympic Festival (all-around, pommel horse). He finished the World Championship eliminations with second place in the all-around competition. At the 1979 World Gymnastics Championships in Fort Wayne, Thomas won six medals. He was double world champion (floor and horizontal bar), got three times silver (all-around, pommel horse and jump) and a bronze medal (team). In the World Cup he made it onto the podium once (3rd place pommel horse).

Due to the US Olympic boycott, Kurt Thomas could not take part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . Even winning the American Cup did not change Thomas' decision to retire from active gymnastics. Still, he stayed in touch with gymnastics as a commentator for ABC . He also ran a gymnastics show. In 1985 he starred in the action flick Asia Mission by Robert Clouse . He made another film appearance in 1988 in the TV drama Circus .

At the age of 35, he attempted a comeback in 1991. At the US championships, he made 22nd place in the all-around competition. In 1992 he even took 6th place on the pommel horse. 2003 Thomas had one last film appearance. In the same year he appeared in a film for the last time. He was seen as a manager in the Spanish comedy Slam .

Kurt Thomas died in June 2020 as a result of a stroke . Kurt Thomas ran the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Center in Frisco , Texas . He was married and had a son and a daughter.

Further honors

In 2003 Kurt Thomas was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame . Two gymnastic figures were named in his honor: Thomas Flare on the pommel horse and Thomas Salto on the ground.

Another "award" is the nomination for the Golden Raspberry as worst newcomer (for Asia Mission ).

Web links

• Kurt Thomas in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Gymnastics - World Championships Men
• Website of the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Center

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Three-time world gymnastics champion Kurt Thomas died" on spiegel.de on June 7, 2020