When I was pre-teen and into my teen years, I competed in gymnastics. It really was my life. I got out of school early to train at a local gym, and yes, my eyes were on making the Olympic team at some point in my life. It never happened. But on the long journey to make it to the elite level, I used to look up to gymnasts like Bart Connor and Kurt Thomas. Thomas became known for a move he pioneered on the pommel horse and the floor exercise known as the “Thomas Flair” and it was spectacular to see him do it without any effort. However, while there’s point where we achieve a personal level of excellence in whatever we strive for, we often have our, um, less than glorious moments.
Kurt had a tough break during the 1976 Olympics where his Thomas Flair didn’t live up to its name:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s9g6BYu9a8&feature=related[/youtube]
Thankfully, he was able to perfect his routine(s) three years later!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMVXzytMe8g[/youtube]
3 thoughts on “Oof! Tough Break”
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I’ll bet he was pretty upset after that…but it gave him the motivation to improve for the next time. 🙂
By 1979, all the mistakes he was making were pretty much gone. He had his routines down and was pulling perfect 10s in competition. But then Carter boycotted the Moscow Olympics, and, well, Kurt couldn’t train for ’84, so he retired — and then starred in Gymkata!
That is so impressive. I am always amazed at the talent, but every Olympics the talent get more and more super human.