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Jim Hartung

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Hartung
Full nameJames Hartung
Country representedUnited States
Born (1960-06-07) June 7, 1960 (age 64)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Height165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
College teamNebraska Cornhuskers
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's artistic gymnastics
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 0
World Championships 0 0 1
Total 1 0 1
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Team
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Fort Worth Team

James Hartung (born June 7, 1960)[1] is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Early life and education

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Hartung was born in Omaha, Nebraska.[2] He competed for the University of Nebraska and was a member of four straight national championship teams: 1979–1982. He was the all-around NCAA champion in 1980 and 1981. During his career, he also won five apparatus gold medals at NCAA championships.[1] In 1982, Hartung won the Nissen Award (gymnastics's "Heisman").[3]

Gymnastics career

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In 1979, Hartung was a member of the U.S. bronze-medal winning World Championships team. He was also part of the 1978 Worlds, 1981 and 1983 Worlds squads.[1]

Hartung was a member of the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As a consolation, he was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.[4] In 1984, he was a member of the gold-medal winning Olympic Team.[1][3][5]

At USAG national championships, Hartung won the all-around gold in 1981. Over several years, he collected 13 golds on apparatuses.[1] He is also considered one of the best NCAA men's gymnasts of all time as the leader of the 5-time in a row winning Nebraska team and because of his record 22 All-Americans. He was also the 1980 and 1981 NCAA all-around champion.

Post-competition career

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After gymnastics, Hartung became a high-level gymnastics judge. Since 2006, he has been an assistant coach of the men's gymnastics team at the University of Nebraska.[3]

Awards and honors

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Hartung entered the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame as a member of the gold medal Olympic team in 1984 and then in 1997 as an individual. In 2006, he and his 1984 teammates were inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.[6] Hartung is also a member of the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame[7] and the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Biography: Jim Hartung". usghof.org. March 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Hartung". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Bio: Jim Hartung". huskers.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  4. ^ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
  5. ^ a b "Biography: Jim Hartung". omahasportshalloffame.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  6. ^ http://usagym.org/pages/home/publications/technique/2006/1/hof.pdf Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ "Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation". Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
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