Ronald S. Barak (born June 7, 1943) is an American

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

. At the

1961 Maccabiah Games The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President ...

he won eight gold medals, one

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

, and one bronze medal. At the 1964

NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships The NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships are a gymnastics competition held each year to determine the best men's college gymnastics team. All schools compete in one National Collegiate division because only 13 schools sponsor NCAA men's gymnastics ...

he won the all-around competition, the horizontal bars, and the

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally w ...

, and at the 1964

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) National Gymnastics Competition he was the champion in the horizontal bars. He competed in eight events at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Early and personal life

Barak was born in Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish.Martin Harry Greenberg (1979
''The Jewish Lists; Physicists and Generals, Actors and Writers, and Hundreds of Other Lists of Accomplished Jews''
/ref> He attended Louis Pasteur Junior High School in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

, and Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. He then attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC; B.S. with honors in physics, '64), and was awarded USC's Athlete of the Year Award in 1964. Barak also attended the

University of Southern California Law School The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with ...

(J.D., '68), and became a partner at, chairman of the

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

section of, and co-managing partner of the law firm of

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker Paul Hastings LLP is a global law firm that represents a client base in finance, M&A, private equity, and litigation. The firm specializes in white collar and government disputes, energy, infrastructure, and intellectual property. Paul Hastin ...

, and was later a partner at the law firm of

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is a Los Angeles-based law firm of more than 450 attorneys and other professionals founded in 1965. The firm earned revenues of $316.9 million in 2017. Donna L. Wilson is the firm's Chief Executive and Managing Part ...

. He authored the mystery novel ''A Season For Redemption'' (2010), and a novel, ''The Amendment Killer'', a

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The s ...

published in November 2017. He lives in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed bec ...

Gymnastics career

In 1960 Barak was the LA City Schools

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

champion. Barak competed for the US in gymnastics at the

, winning eight gold medals (including two in the rings, and two in the high bar), one

, and one bronze medal.Miloslav Rechcigl Jr. (2016)
''Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech-American Biography''
/ref> In 1962, Barak led the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

to a

National Collegiate Athletics Association 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 and ...

(NCAA) title in gymnastics, and won the all-around in the Big 6 Conference. He sat out 1963 with injuries. At the 1964

, Barak won three individual titles—the all-around competition, the horizontal bars, and the

. At the 1964

(AAU) National Gymnastics Competition, he was the champion in the horizontal bars. He was named a National Association of Gymnastics Coaches First Team All-American in all-around, high bar, and parallel bars. Barak was a member of the

United States men's national 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 ...

that placed seventh in the team combined exercise competition at the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

. He was 25th in the

rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, 31st in the horizontal bars, 39th in the all-around competition out of 130 competitors, 45th in the parallel bars, 54th in the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

, 67th in the

pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubbe ...

, and 95th in the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. From 1965 to 1968, while attending law school he was head coach of the USC Trojans varsity gymnastics team. In 1967 Barak was the coach of the United States gymnastics team that won a silver medal in the 1967 World University Games.

Halls of Fame

In 1990, Barak was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

. In 1995 he was inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In 2017 he was inducted into the Los Angeles City Schools Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barak, Ronald 1943 births Living people Jewish gymnasts Jewish American sportspeople Competitors at the 1961 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in gymnastics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for the United States USC Trojans athletes USC Trojans coaches USC Gould School of Law alumni Paul Hastings partners American male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of the United States Gymnasts at the 1964 Summer Olympics Gymnasts from Los Angeles Real property lawyers Lawyers from Los Angeles Jewish American attorneys Jewish American novelists 21st-century American Jews