Larry Gerard is a former American

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

and member of the

United States men's national artistic gymnastics team The United States men's artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in FIG international competitions. History The first national team roster was established in 1998. The team has competed at the Olympic Games 21 times, winning six me ...

. He was selected for the 1980 Olympics but was unable to participate due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. Gerard's mother died of a blood disease when he was three years old and his father later died of a heart attack in 1965. He lived with his stepmother until she kicked him out at 16. Larry's brother, Alex, had previously attended Lincoln Southeast High School and was a state champion gymnast and Gerard followed in his footsteps. Gerard won the Nebraska state all-around title in 1974 and was considered one of the greatest athletes in Lincoln Southeast High School history. He later attended

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

and was a member of the

Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Divisi ...

team. Gerard was nominated for the

Nissen-Emery Award The Nissen Award (Nissen Emery Award) is the award given to the best male collegiate gymnast in the United States. The award reflects admirable scholarship and moral characteristics as well as sporting success. List of winners See also * AAI Aw ...

in 1979 as one of the best collegiate men's artistic gymnasts in the country. Gerard placed fifth in the all-around at the 1979 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship en route to the Cornhuskers' first NCAA title. He finished his Nebraska career as a seven-time NCAA All-American. At the 1980 U.S. Olympic trials, Gerard made the

with Nebraska teammates Phil Cahoy and

Jim Hartung James Hartung (born June 7, 1960) is a retired American gymnast. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Elite competition 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 Mosco ...

. The trio were unable to compete due to the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Larry American male artistic gymnasts Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnasts