From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kurt Thomas (March 29, 1956 – June 5, 2020) was an American Olympic gymnast. In 1978, he was the first American male gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (World Championships). Thomas became a member of the US Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1979 he became the first gymnast to receive the James E. Sullivan A... show more