Brian Babcock
| Brian Babcock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country represented |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 11, 1960 Garden City, Kansas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | October 18, 1998 (aged 38) Webster, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Southern Illinois Salukis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Brian Babcock (July 11, 1960 – October 18, 1998) is a former American artistic gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He was the winner of the 1985 USA Gymnastics National Championships.
Early life and education[edit]
Babcock was born in Garden City, Kansas. He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Illinois, where he was a member of the Southern Illinois Salukis men's gymnastics team.[1]
Career[edit]
College gymnastics[edit]
In 1981, Babcock was the NCAA men's gymnastics championships silver medalist on the horizontal bar.[1][2]
In 1983, he tied for the NCAA silver medal on parallel bars and won the bronze on horizontal bar en route to a bronze medal finish in the all-around.[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree in 1983 and a master's in 1989 and served as an assistant coach for the gymnastics team once his collegiate eligibility expired.[3]
National and global gymnastics[edit]
Babcock was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a silver medal on the pommel horse and all-around at the 1983 Pan American Games. He overcame knee injuries and was champion of the 1985 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships.[4][5] In 1986, Babcock was a member of the United States delegation for gymnastics at the 1986 Goodwill Games, the first time the games were held, where he placed sixth on the pommel horse.
Coaching[edit]
In 1989, Babcock joined Dan Hayden and Dennis Hayden to coach at Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center.[6] He coached at the organization for seven years before co-founding the Texas Sports Ranch in Houston.[7]
Death[edit]
On October 18, 1998, Babcock died of complications from a bone marrow transplant to fight myelodysplastic syndrome at his home in Webster, Texas.[1][7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Former National Champion Brian Babcock Loses Battle with Blood Disease". usagym.org. October 19, 1998. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ a b "Brian Babcock". siusalukis.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Bode, Gus (October 21, 1998). "Hall of Famer fights struggles to the end". The Daily Egyptian. Carbondale, Illinois. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Kay, Linda (November 6, 1985). "Seoul Attracts These Opposites". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ "Gymnastics". Orlando Sentinel. June 10, 1985. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ "Brian Babcock is Selected as Parkettes' Boys Coach". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. March 8, 1989. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bone Marrow Disease Claims Life of Ex-Parkettes' Coach". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. October 20, 1998. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
