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Paul O'Neill (gymnast)

For other people named Paul O'Neill, see Paul O'Neill.
Paul O'Neill
Country represented United States
Born (1965-05-08) May 8, 1965 (age 59)
HometownDenver, Colorado
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
ClubU.S. Olympic Training Center
Head coach(es)Ron Brant & Jim Holt
Eponymous skillsO'Neill (rings)
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Silver medal – second place 1994 Brisbane Men's rings

Paul O'Neill (May 8, 1965 – January 22, 2021) was an American gymnast most noted for his work on rings.

Early life and education

O'Neill was born to Evelyn and John O'Neill, the third of four sons.[1] He attended Abraham Lincoln High School for two years and Aurora Central for one. He was a two-time Colorado high school wrestling champion and started gymnastics before his junior year.[2] He was State Champion on rings in 1983.

Gymnastics career

O'Neill went to Houston Baptist University from 1985 to 1987 and the University of New Mexico from 1987 to 1989. He was a three-time NCAA champion on rings, winning in 1987, 1988, and 1989,[3] as well as holding the highest qualifying average record (9.93) in 1987 and 1989. After college, he went on to compete internationally.

O'Neill tore his bicep in 1990 and required an eight-month recovery period.[2] He came fourth at the 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the highest American male finisher, then became the first American man to win a medal at the world championships in 15 years when he won the silver medal in men's rings at the 1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Brisbane.[4] He won the national rings title at the 1995 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships.[5]

He retired from competition in 1997.[2][6]

He was the owner and coach at Dakota Star Gymnastics in Mandan, North Dakota.[2][7] In July 1997, he became program director at Technique Gymnastics outside of Sacramento, California which had 118 competitive team members and 850 total gymnasts.[1]

O'Neill was USA Gymnastics' male athlete of the year in 1994 and The Bismarck Tribune's Sportsman of the Year in 1995.[2]

USA Gymnastics placed O'Neill on its permanently ineligible list between early-2000 and May 2001.[8][9][10]

Competitions

  • World Championships, Brisbane, Australia - Silver Medalist
  • World Championships, Paris, France - 4th (Rings)
  • D.T.B Pokal, Stuttgart, Germany, 1995 - 3rd (Still Rings)
  • D.T.B Pokal, Stuttgart, Germany, 1994 - 5th (Still Rings)
  • Swiss Cup, Zurich, Switzerland, 1995 - 7th (Still Rings)
  • Swiss Cup, Zurich, Switzerland, 1994 - 8th (Still Rings)
  • Kosice Cup, Kosice, Slovakia, 1993 - 1st (Still Rings)

Eponymous skills

O'Neill has one named element on the rings.[11][12] It was initially given an E (0.5) difficulty score, but was lowered to a D (0.4) in 2024.

Gymnastics elements named after Paul O'Neill
Apparatus Name Description Difficulty[a] Added to Code of Points
Rings O'Neill "Straight double felge bwd. to hang." D, 0.4 Named in 1993. Performed at the 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships[13]
  1. ^ Valid for the 2025–2028 Code of Points

Personal life

O'Neill was married to Kristi Kasprzak O'Neill and had three children.[1]

He owned his own personal training company, and he has also done some acting and modeling. His hobbies include singing in a band. Paul died 01/22/2021.

References

  1. ^ a b c Billingsley, Mark (August 21, 1997). "National champion lands in Sacramento". The Sacramento Bee. p. Northeast Neighbors 10. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Pursley, Scooter (December 31, 1995). "All about rings". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 3A. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "GYMNASTICS; New Mexico's Fox, O'Neill Dominate Events at NCAAs". Washington Post. 1989-04-16. Fox's teammate, Paul O'Neill, won his third straight rings championship, only the sixth person to win three event titles in a row.
  4. ^ "GYMNASTICS / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS O'Neill Wins Rare Medal for American Men". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-28. Paul O'Neill, 28, of Mandan, N.D., became first American man to win a medal at the World Gymnastics Championships in 15 years when he won a silver medal in the rings event Saturday at Brisbane, Australia.
  5. ^ "O'Neill solid gold". The Bismarck Tribune. August 20, 1995. p. 1B. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Pursley, Scooter (January 18, 1997). "Mandan gymnast sees end of career". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 1D. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Koch, Nicole (July 15, 1995). "Mandan camp thrills gymnasts". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 1B. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "Notice to Membership". USA Gymnastics. Vol. 29, no. 1. January–February 2000. p. 39. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  9. ^ "Notice to Membership". USA Gymnastics. Vol. 31, no. 3. May–June 2002. p. 49. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Permanently Ineligible & Ineligible Members and Participants". usagym.org. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Table of Named Elements Men's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). gymnastics.sport. December 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "Men's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025–2028" (PDF). gymnastics.sport. July 3, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "Move Named After O'Neill". The Denver Post. October 25, 1992. p. 10B.
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