Peter Glen Vidmar (born June 3, 1961 in Los Angeles) is an American gymnast and Olympic medalist.
Video Peter Vidmar
Olympics
Vidmar qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, he was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later. At the 1984 Summer Olympic games on Los Angeles, California Vidmar won gold medals in the men's all-around team competition and the pommel horse competition, as well as a silver medal in the men's all-around individual gymnastics competition. With a total of three Olympic medals, two golds and a silver, Peter is one of only three athletes inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame twice: first as an individual, then as a member of the historic 1984 U.S. men's gymnastics team. He also was the highest-scoring American gymnast in Olympic history.
Maps Peter Vidmar
UCLA
He is an alumnus of UCLA. In 1983, Vidmar won the Nissen Award (the "Heisman" of men's gymnastics).
Career
Vidmar hosts the Annual Peter Vidmar Men's Gymnastics Invitational at Brentwood School in Los Angeles. Peter has been a gymnastics anchor for both CBS and ESPN. He is currently a motivational speaker as well as a co-chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee Summer Sports Summit. In 1998 Vidmar was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Personal
He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
2012 Olympics
Vidmar was selected to be the chef de mission for the 2012 Olympics, where he would have represented all U.S. athletes and marched in the opening ceremonies. His selection drew criticism from LGBT activists and athletes, including Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, because in 2008 Vidmar donated money to and publicly campaigned for Proposition 8 that banned same-sex couples from being married in California. Vidmar decided several days after his selection to decline the appointment. Vidmar chose not to allow others to create a distraction that might hinder the US "Olympic family".
U.S. Gymnastics
He was named chairman of the U.S. Gymnastics Board of Directors in December 2008. Vidmar left his role at USA Gymnastics in December 2015 to serve as a mission president for the LDS Church in Australia.
References
External links
- Official Website
- List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments