Ohio State Men’s Gymnastics Begins Countdown to Tokyo 2020
7/24/2019 9:51:47 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Exactly one year out from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Ohio State men’s gymnastics team is hopeful it will once again represent Team USA in the Summer Games. In the past 30 years, the Buckeyes have sent six athletes to the Olympics to represent Team USA, Brazil and New Zealand, and have two hopeful alumni now within a year of the Tokyo Games.
2019 graduate Alec Yoder and 2018 alum Sean Melton are continuing their training at Ohio State’s Steelwood Center in preparation for the USA Gymnastics Championships from August 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri. The championships are the first step in preparation for the year to come leading up to opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020.
Yoder finished his Buckeye career in April 2019 by winning a national championship on the pommel horse and earning All-American honors on the parallel bars. In his career at OSU, Yoder was an eight-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Champion (2016, 2019).
A 2018 graduate, Melton was a ten-time All-American with three nods in both all-around and high bar. Melton was also a seven-time Big Ten champion and the 2018 Nissan Emery Award Winner.
Ohio State’s Former Gymnastics Olympians
Gil Pinto – Seoul, 1988
- Pinto graduated from OSU in 1990 and was the program’s first Olympian. In 1988, Pinto was the only Brazilian gymnast to compete in the Seoul Games and the third male gymnast from Brazil to ever compete in the Olympics.
Kip Simons – Atlanta, 1996
- Simons qualified for the 1996 Olympics after winning the Nissen Emery Award at OSU in 1994. In his Olympic debut with OSU teammate, Blaine Wilson, Team USA finished fifth in team competition at the Atlanta Games.
Blaine Wilson – Atlanta, 1996; Sydney, 2000; Athens, 2004
- A Columbus native, Wilson competed at OSU from 1994-97 where he won the Nissen Emery Award and was coached by former Olympian and Team USA bronze medalist, Peter Kormann. In the 2004 Games, Wilson won the silver medal with Team USA after placing fifth in team competition in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Jamie Natalie – Sydney, 2000 (alternate)
- Natalie competed for OSU from 1998-2001 under former Team USA coach, Miles Avery. In 2000, Natalie was a two-time NCAA champion and won the Nissen Emery award in 2001. His outstanding collegiate performance earned him a spot in the 2000 Olympic Trials where he was selected as an alternate for the Sydney Games.
Raj Bhavsar – Athens, 2004 (alternate); Beijing, 2008
- Bhavsar graduated from OSU in 2004, the same year he was named an alternate for his first Olympic games in Athens. In 2008, he was selected to compete where he won a bronze medal with Team USA.
Misha Koudinov – Rio, 2016
- Koudinov represented Team New Zealand in 2016 after graduating from OSU in 2014. Although none of the three Team New Zealand gymnasts medaled in the Games, it was the first time since 2000 that New Zealand gymnasts competed in the Olympics.
