Just before the start of last season, long-time Ohio State men's head coach Miles Avery mysteriously stepped down. They made it through the 2011 season through the guidance of assistant coaches, but this summer they've cleaned house and added some serious big names to their coaching roster.

 

The incredibly impressive trio of Olympic gymnasts turned coaches are: Rustam Sharipov, Paul Hamm, and Casimro Suarez. 

 

In May, Ohio State announced that Rustam Sharipov will take over the men's gymnastics program. Sharipov had been an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma for the past six seasons and personal coach to OU grad and 2010 World Team member Chris Brooks. As a gymnast, Sharipov was a 2-time Olympic Gold Medallist.

 

Highlights from Sharipov's gymnastics career include being crowned Soviet junior national champion in 1989, and helping the Unified Team to an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He was the 1992 European Champion on high bar, 1995 European and World Champion on parallel bars, and 1996 Olympic gold medallist on parallel bars and lead the Ukranian team to a bronze medal. 

 

On Monday, Sharipov announced the additions of Hamm and Suarez. Hamm, the 2004 Olympic All Around Champion, told AP today that he will train for London 2012 at Ohio State along with coaching. He's pushing to be ready to compete pommel horse and floor at the US Championships in August, just seven months after shoulder surgery.

 

Suarez was an Olympian for Cuba in the 1980 Games and is recently well-known for coaching US Junior National team members to JO Nationals AA titles, Sean Melton in 2011 and Jake Martin in 2010. 

 

Below is the press release form ohiostatebuckeyes.com: 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Casimiro Suarez and Paul Hamm and will join the Ohio State men’s gymnastics staff as assistant coaches, first-year head coach Rustam Sharipov announced Monday. Suarez, a member of the Cuban Olympic Team in 1980, comes to Ohio State with more than 20 years of coaching experience, most recently at Orlando Metro Gymnastics and on the U.S. National Junior Team staff. Hamm, an Ohio State graduate, is an Olympic gold medalist in the all-around, becoming the first American to win the title in 2004.

 

“I am really excited to announce the new assistant coaches,” Sharipov said. “All of the experience and knowledge they both bring to the program is going to be a great benefit to our gymnasts. We are looking forward to starting together as a team and producing good results.”

 

Suarez, a native of Havana, Cuba, comes to Ohio State after coaching at Orlando Metro Gymnastics in Florida since 2002. A U.S. Junior National Team coach since in 2004, he was named the Junior Olympic Coach of the Year in 2010. He served as Cuba’s women’s national team coach from 1991-94, was Brazil’s women’s national team coach from 1995-98 and was an assistant coach for the women’s team at the University of Oklahoma from 1998-00. As a gymnast, Suarez was a member of the Cuban National Team for 16 years and won nine all-around national titles. He competed in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, finishing sixth in high bar and participated in the World Championships seven times. He has a degree from the School of Superior Physical Education in Havana, Cuba. 

 

Hamm was the Olympic gold medalist in the all-around at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the first U.S. male to win the title. He is a two-time Olympian after also competing in the 2000 Games in Sydney and has two Olympic medals in addition to his all-around gold, earning a team silver medal and a silver medal on horizontal bar. He also claimed the world all-around and floor exercise titles in 2003, two of five world championship medals he earned in his career. Hamm, a nine-time U.S. champion, was the winner of the 2004 James E. Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He has participated in two gymnastics tours and has given numerous paid and volunteer motivational speeches. A native of Waukesha, Wis., Hamm graduated from Ohio State magna cum laude with a degree in accounting in 2007. He trained at Ohio State while preparing for the 2004 Olympic Games.