Joe Kotys
American gymnast (1925–2012)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Kotys (October 31, 1925 – August 21, 2012) was an American artistic gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a team gold medal and three individual medals at the 1955 Pan American Games. At the 1948 Summer Olympics, he placed seventh with the team and had his best individual result of twenty-third place on pommel horse.
| Joe Kotys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kotys in 1949 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Joseph Kotys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 31, 1925 Olyphant, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 21, 2012 (aged 86) Florida, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Kent State Golden Flashes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gym | Swiss Turners | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Formative years
Kotys fought in World War II as a gunner on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and completed twenty-two missions. He attended Kent State University and was a member of the Kent State Golden Flashes men's swimming and diving and men's gymnastics teams. As a diver, he won the Ohio Conference three times. As a gymnast, he won National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in the all-around in 1949–50, on parallel bars in 1949–50, on the horizontal bar in 1950, and on the pommel horse in 1951. He also won three Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) titles, in the vault in 1948 and on parallel bars in 1948 and 1951. While competing on rings at the 1956 U.S. Olympic Trials he crashed to the floor due to a failed support mount.
Professional life
Kotys retired shortly after his injury in the U.S. Olympic Trials and became a gymnastics coach in Ohio. In 1978, he was inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame. During the early 1960s, he was a gymnastics coach in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Death
Ailing with pancreatic cancer, Kotys died from cancer-related complications in Florida on August 21, 2012.[2]
