Guard Wayne Young (born June 3, 1977 in

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...

) is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the

United States men's national artistic gymnastics team The United States men's artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG international competitions. History The first national team roster was established in 1998. The team has competed at ...

and was named three-times to 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 ...

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

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Young helped his U.S. squad to earn a silver medal in the same program, a best finish since 1984. Young earned six

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and two NCAA titles in the men's vault during his college career. In 2010, Young was inducted into the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Young was born in

, the son of a 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 List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

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

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, where he competed for the

gymnastics team. During his college career, he received a total of six

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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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 A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

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, Belgium, in 2001 at the Flanders Sports Arena. This was the first Worlds at which the 6-3-3—six athletes per team, three compete, all three scores count—format was used in ...

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, 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 The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

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 illegally 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 lobbyi ...

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

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. 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) is a retired American artistic gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He is the 2004 Olympic all-around champion, a three-time Olympic medalist, and the 2003 ...

Morgan Hamm Morgan Carl Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is an American retired artistic gymnast and former member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He is an Olympic silver medalist in the team competition a ...

, Blaine Wilson, and

Brett McClure Brett Dallas McClure (born February 19, 1981) is a retired American gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a bronze medal in the pommel horse at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australi ...

. 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

. 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 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

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Guard Young
at

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. It sets the domestic rules and policies that govern the sport, promotes and develops gymnastics on the grassroots ...

* * {{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 Centre County, 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 21st-century American sportsmen