Kurt Bitteraux THOMAS

Kurt Thomas attended Indiana State University, the second greatest athlete ever from that school, after Larry Bird. The United States did not compete at the 1980 Olympics and many athletes’ careers were shattered, but perhaps none more so than Kurt Thomas. Thomas had competed at the 1976 Olympics, and had won a bronze medal in all-around at the 1975 Pan American Games. In the years between 1976-80 he became the greatest American male gymnast to that date, winning a gold medal in floor exercise at the 1978 World Championships. In 1979 he won six medals at the Worlds, including golds on high bar and floor, and silvers in all-around, parallel bars, and pommeled horse. He also won the American Cup in 1978-79, was US all-around champion in 1977-78, and NCAA Champion in 1979 in all-around. Although the 1980 Olympics were in Moskva, and it would have been difficult to defeat the Soviet gymnasts on home soil, notably Aleksandr Dityatin, Thomas was considered a medal favorite in all-around and had a shot at the gold.