position Head Coach
Hometown Kharkov, Ukraine
Rustam Sharipov (roos-TOM SHARE-ee-pahv) was named the head coach of the Ohio State men’s gymnastics team in the summer of 2011. Sharipov, previously an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma from 2005-11, brings the experience of three Olympic medals, including two gold, to Columbus as the eighth head coach in program history.
Since 2016, Sharipov has added another Big Ten Team Championship (2017) and four Big Ten Individual Championships (Jake Martin, High Bar- 2017, Sean Melton, All-Around- 2018, Alec Yoder, Pommel Horse- 2019 and Kameron Nelson, Vault – 2022) to the program’s records. Sharipov led the Buckeyes to the program’s first Big Ten regular season championship in 2022. The league began crowning a regular-season champion in 2019.
Sharipov also coached Alec Yoder to become the Pommel Horse Individual National Champion in 2019. Yoder went on to finish sixth in the Pommel Horse finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and compete in the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
In 2022, Sharipov led the Buckeyes back to the NCAA Championships to place in the top-six in the country for the first time since 2017, finishing fifth. Three Buckeyes earned All-American recognition at the NCAA Championships. Throughout the season, Ohio State defeated every team they faced at least once, except for the national champion. The Buckeyes also earned their first win against the rival Wolverines in dual-meet format since 2017.
Sharipov was named the 2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year and helped guide Ohio State to its first Big Ten title since 2007. The Scarlet and Gray also set five school records in 2016: all-around (447.700), rings (76.050), high bar (75.750), vault (75.450) and parallel bars (75.150). Senior Alex Johnson went out on top becoming the first Buckeye since Ronald Ferris (2005) to win a national title on the high bar; Ohio State, as a team, registered a third-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships, its best finish since 2005 as well. In addition, Sean Melton was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, and Alec Yoder won Big Ten Freshmen of the Year accolades.
In 2015, Ohio State was named the preseason favorite in the Big Ten and ranked No. 3 in the nation prior to losing its Top 3 gymnasts to injury. The Buckeyes would go on to finish fifth at the Big Ten championships and NCAA Qualifier, with Drew Moling (rings) and Alex Johnson (high bar) earning All-America honors. Johnson also won his first career Big Ten title on high bar.
The 2014 CGA Central Regional Coach of the Year, Sharipov led the Buckeyes to fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships and a second-place finish at the Big Ten championships during the 2014 season. Sharipov helped Sean Melton to four All-American awards, Big Ten freshman of the year honors and Big Ten individual championships on high bar and parallel bars. Jake Martin was a two-event All-American and Big Ten champion on vault, while Jeff Treleaven earned his third All-American honor on vault and Johnson his first All-American award on high bar.
Throughout the 2014 season, Sharipov coached the Buckeyes to a program-record team score of 446.150, (the sixth-highest score all-time) in a Senior Day upset win over No. 1 Oklahoma in addition to new team program records on all six events and new individual program records on four events (pommel horse, vault, parallel bars and high bar).
In 2013, Sharipov guided Michael Newburger to the 2013 NCAA Championship on pommel horse. The Austin, Texas, native scored a 15.450 to become only the second gymnast in program history to win a national title on pommel. In addition to Newburger, Sharipov coached Danny Steiner and Treleaven to All-America honors on floor exercise and vault, respectively, at the 2013 NCAA Individual Event Finals.
Ohio State placed fourth overall at the 2013 Big Ten Championships, one place higher than the previous season. Under Sharipov’s guidance, Steiner placed second overall on floor exercise, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors for his performance.
Sharipov led the Buckeyes to a record-setting season in 2012, as five members of the team (Ty Echard, Misha Koudinov, Kris Done, Newburger and Steiner) earned All-America status at the 2012 NCAA Individual Event Finals, tying the season program record with the 1993 and 2002 campaigns, respectively.
Sharipov coached Echard, a 2012 Nissen-Emery Award finalist, to a share of the Big Ten pommel horse title and subsequent First Team All-Big Ten honors. He also guided Koudinov to a third-place tie on floor exercise and a second-place finish on parallel bars at the Big Ten championships.
A native of Kharkov, Ukraine, Sharipov was named 2006 National Co-Assistant Coach of the Year, helping the Sooners claim the NCAA championship that year. In 2008, Sharipov helped guide the team to a second national title and was named co-assistant coach of the year for the second time in his career. In 2011, he was named the CGA West Region assistant coach of the year, leading the Sooners to an NCAA runner-up finish in the team finals.
After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 2000, Sharipov moved to the United States and began his coaching career at the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Okla. After one year, Sharipov accepted a coaching position at the Houston Gymnastics Academy where he worked with some of the top gymnasts in the nation, including U.S. national team members Sean Townsend and Todd Thornton. In 2004, he was the head coach for the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Junior Pacific Alliance Competition and in 2002 was the coach of the U.S. team that took gold at the Junior Pan American Games.
As a gymnast, Sharipov began his competitive career as the Soviet junior national champion in 1989 before bringing home the all-around championship at the 1990 U.S. Olympic Cup. Sharipov helped the Unified Team to an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He put on a show at the 1992 European Championships, winning high bar and taking second on parallel bars. Sharipov also took first on parallel bars at the CIS championships and the DTB Cup, and added a high bar championship at the Tokyo Cup.
In 1993 Sharipov continued his success, taking first in the all-around at both the Nikon International and the International Championships of Romania, along with a third-place finish in the event at the European Cup. At the 1994 World Championships, Sharipov was a member of the third-place team and was the runner-up on parallel bars.
In 1995, after winning championships on parallel bars at the French International and the Cottbus International along with an all-around title at the International Championships of Romania, Sharipov had an impressive showing at the European Cup, winning gold on high bar and parallel bars. He followed that up in 1996 with perhaps the best year of his career, taking first on parallel bars at the European championships before adding a gold medal on the same apparatus at the World championships.
The crowning moment of Sharipov’s athletic career came at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he won the gold medal on parallel bars and was a member of the bronze-medal Ukrainian team.
A 1997 graduate of Kharkov State in Ukraine, Sharipov was awarded the title of Master of Sport in 1992. The honor represents the highest athletic level one can reach in the former Soviet Union.
Sharipov and his wife, Amber, have four daughters: Ksenia, Maya, Isabella, and Lilia; and one son, Raistlin.
Sharipov By the Numbers at Ohio State
15 All-Americans (30 All-America awards)
2 Big Ten Team Championships
1 Big Ten Regular Season Team Championship
13 Big Ten Individual Championships 3 individual national champions (Michael Newburger, pommel horse – 2013, Alex Johnson, high bar – 2016, and Alec Yoder, Pommel Horse – 2019)
Coaching Experience
2011-Present – Head Coach, The Ohio State University
2005-2011 – Assistant Coach, University of Oklahoma
2001-05 – Houston Gymnastics Academy
2000-01 – Bart Conner Gymnastics
Coaching Accomplishments
2016- Big Ten Coach of the Year
2014 – CGA Central Region coach of the year
2011 – Pan American Games coach (coached former Buckeye Brandon Wynn to gold medal on rings)
2010 – World championships personal coach
2010 – Head Coach, gold-medal U.S. Pan American team
2008 – National co-assistant coach of the year (Oklahoma)
2006 – National co-assistant coach of the year (Oklahoma)
2004 – Head Coach, gold-medal Jr. Pacific Alliance team
2002 – Head Coach, gold-medal Jr. Pan American team
1992 – “Master of Sport,” Soviet Union
Gymnastics Accomplishments
1996 – Gold Medalist on parallel bars, Atlanta Olympic Games
1996 – Team bronze medal (Ukraine), Atlanta Olympic Games
1996 – Parallel Bars champion, World championships
1996 – Parallel Bars champion, European championships
1995 – High bar gold medalist, European Cup
1995 – Parallel bars co-gold medalist, European Cup
1995 – Fifth in all-around, European Cup
1995 – All-Around champion, Championships of Romania
1995 – Parallel bars champion, Cottbus International
1995 – Parallel bars champion, French International
1994 – Parallel bars runner-up, World championships
1994 – Third-place team, World championships
1994 – Parallel bars co-champion, European championships
1994 – All-Around and still rings champion, Chunichi Cup
1993 – Third place in all-around, European Cup
1993 – All-Around, still rings, parallel bars, high bar champion at Championships of Romania
1993 – First-place team at Diet Coke Mixed Duos
1993 – All-Around and parallel bars champion, Nikon International
1992 – Olympic gold medal team (Unified Team)
1992 – High bar champion, European championships
1992 – Parallel bars runner-up, European championships
1992 – Parallel bars champion, CIS championships
1992 – Parallel bars champion, DTB Cup
1992 – High bar champion, Tokyo Cup
1991 – Alternate, Soviet Union world-championship team
1990 – All-around champion, U.S. Olympic Cup
1989 – National champion, Soviet junior championships
