Creator of the Thomas Flair on pommel horse and the Thomas Spin on the horizontal bar, Kurt Thomas was among the sport’s best competitors and innovators during his competitive years in the 1970s.
An NCAA, USGF Nationals, Pan American Games, and World Championships medalist, Thomas participated in one Olympics in 1976, which was his only chance at an Olympiad because of the US boycott of the 1980 Games.
Regardless, Thomas was a 13-time All-American at Indiana State University and was the first gymnast to win the James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding athletics in AAU competition. He is an International Gymnastics Hall of Fame and USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee. Following his retirement from the sport, Thomas operated the Kurt Thomas Training Center in Frisco, Texas.
