Guard Wayne Young (born June 3, 1977 in

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

) is a retired American gymnast. He is a three-time member of the U.S. gymnastics team at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, and contributed to a silver medal in the men's team competition in 2001. Three years later, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Young helped his U.S. squad to earn a silver medal in the same program, a best finish since 1984. During his college career, Young has earned six All-American and two NCAA titles in the men's vault. In 2010, Young was inducted to the sports hall of fame by the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Early years

Young was born in

, the son of former gymnast and 1976 U.S. Olympic team captain Wayne Young. He started gymnastics at the age of ten, coached by his father. When his family moved to

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, b ...

at the age of 12, Young trained under head coach Mark Williams, first at Oklahoma Gold and then later moving with Williams to the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy. Because of his coach's guidance, he became a junior national champion in 1996, and later a full-fledged member of the U.S. senior gymnastics team. Young attended his father's alma mater

in Provo, Utah, where he competed for the BYU Cougars gymnastics team. During his college career, he received a total of six All-American titles and became a double vault champion and all-around runner-up at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Gymnastics Championships. At the end of his junior year, the men's gymnastics program at BYU was cut. He missed a spot on the 2000 U.S. squad, finishing tenth in the all-around at the trials. In 2001, Young graduated from the University with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in communications major in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

Career

2001–2003

Young made his official debut at the

2001 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 35th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the E ...

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, where he earned a silver medal for the U.S. gymnastics team in the men's team competition with a total score of 166.845. He however did not contribute to the team score in the team final. While continuing to train at the Olympic level, Young accepted a position as an assistant coach for the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

gymnastics team, reuniting with his junior coach, Mark Williams. Young helped the

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaig ...

to three NCAA team titles before leaving for another position in Northern California in 2005.

2004 Summer Olympics

Young competed for the United States, as a 27-year-old, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

by earning a spot in the men's gymnastics team from the Olympic trials in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. On the first day of the Games, Young qualified for floor exercise final with a score of 9.700 in the prelims, but was prohibited from advancing due to the two per-country rule, with teammates Paul and Morgan Hamm ranking above him. In the team all-around, Young ended a 20-year-old drought to capture a silver for the U.S. men's best medal finish, joining on top of the podium by Jason Gatson,

Paul Hamm Paul Elbert Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is a retired American artistic gymnast. He is the 2004 Olympic all-around champion, a three-time Olympic medalist, and the 2003 World all-around champion. Hamm is the most succes ...

Morgan Hamm Morgan Carl Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is an American artistic gymnast. He is an Olympic silver medalist in the team competition at the 2004 Olympics and a two-time Olympian (2000, 2004). He also was a member of the s ...

, Blaine Wilson, and Brett McClure. During the competition, Young performed a floor (9.700), rings (9.475), and vault (9.350) to sum up the team's total to 172.933, trailing Japan by almost a full point.

Life after gymnastics

Shortly after the Olympics, Young announced his retirement from competitive gymnastics to further continue his career as an assistant coach. After leaving Oklahoma in 2005 he coached in Northern California and eventually opened several preschool gyms in the state, calling his business Youngsters. In 2011, he returned to Oklahoma to rejoin Mark Williams as an assistant coach for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

. With Young's help, the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team won the 2015 NCAA National Team Championship. Because of a full commitment and dedication to his sporting accomplishments, Young was inducted to the Hall of Fame by the

in 2010. Since 1999, Young is married to school teacher Alisha Tolman, and the couple currently reside with their three children, son Tyler Mark, son Jaxson and daughter Hadley in

. The family are devout Mormons. Guard was named the Head Coach of the Brigham Young University women's gymnastics team on May 14, 2015.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Guard 1977 births Living people American male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from State College, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Norman, Oklahoma BYU Cougars men's gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Oklahoma Sooners men's gymnastics coaches BYU Cougars women's gymnastics coaches