Gaylord, Mitchell J.
Gymnastics
b. March 10, 1961, Los Angeles, CA
The Los Angeles high school athlete of the year in 1979 for his skill in gymnastics, Gaylord entered UCLA after graduating. He left school for two years to train with Kurt Thomas and won the all-around championship at the 1982 National Sports Festival.
The first to perform the "Gaylord flip," a somersault on the high bar, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound athlete introduced "Gaylord II," a 11/2 somersault, in 1984, when he won the all-around titles at the NCAA and U. S. national championships. At the 1984 Olympics, he won a silver medal in the vault and bronzes in the parallel bars and rings and was a member of the gold medal U. S. team. His score of 59.45 in the team competition is a U. S. record.
He retired from competition after the Olympics and has since pursued a career as an actor, produced a fitness video, and co-authored a book, Working Out Without Weights.