Olympic gold medalist and National Gymnastics Hall of Famer Jim Hartung died Saturday night, the University of Nebraska said in a statement. The two-time Olympian had served as an assistant coach at his alma mater for 19 seasons.
An eight-time National Team member, four-time World Championships team member and two-time Olympian, Hartung was part of the historic men’s 1984 Olympic Team that won gold in Los Angeles, where he also qualified for the vault final.
Raised in Omaha, Hartung competed at the University of Nebraska. He led the Huskers to four consecutive team titles and won two NCAA all-around titles (’80, ’81), three titles on rings (’80-’82), and two parallel bars championships (’81, ’82) en route to 22 All-America honors. Before earning Olympic gold in Los Angeles, Hartung had been named to the 1980 Olympic Team.
Hartung was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame with his 1984 teammates of Peter Vidmar, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, Bart Conner and Scott Johnson, and was again inducted as an individual in 1997. He was named to the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2015 and was in the inaugural class of the College Gymnastics Association Hall of Fame Class in 2024.