Paul Ruggeri

Paul Ruggeri
Full name	Paul Ruggeri III
Country represented	United States
Born	(1988-11-12) November 12, 1988 (age 28) Syracuse, New York
Hometown	Manlius, New York
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior elite
Years on national team	2010-2016
College team	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Head coach(es)	Genadi Chub
Medal record Men's artistic gymnastics Representing the  United States World Championships 2014 Nanning Team Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara Horizontal bar 2015 Toronto Team 2011 Guadalajara Parallel bars 2011 Guadalajara Team 2015 Toronto Horizontal bar U.S. National Championships 2012 St-Louis Floor exercise 2013 Hartford Floor exercise 2014 Pittsburgh Vault 2015 Indianapolis Horizontal bar 2015 Indianapolis Vault 2010 Hartford Vault 2010 Hartford Horizontal bar 2011 St-Paul Horizontal bar 2013 Hartford Vault 2014 Pittsburgh Floor exercise 2014 Pittsburgh Horizontal bar

Paul Ruggeri III (born November 12, 1988) is a senior elite American gymnast who competed for the University of Illinois and is currently training at the USOTC in Colorado Springs, CO.

Ruggeri is the grandson of an Italian immigrant. His father was a swimmer and his aunt a gymnast. He attended Fayetteville Manlius High School in his home town of Manlius, New York. He began gymnastics in 1995 at CNY Gym Centre.

Ruggeri competed for the University of Illinois from 2008 to 2012. In 2008, Ruggeri was the NCAA national champion on high bar. In 2009, he repeated high bar gold and added gold on parallel bars. In 2012, Ruggeri was national champion on vault and won silver on parallel bars; the Illini were also national team champions. In 2012 he was named the Nissen Award winner, the gymnastics version of the Heisman.

Ruggeri had five years of college gymnastics because he redshirted (cut short or skipped because of injury) his 2011 (senior) year. The cause was a torn peroneal (ankle) ligament at U.S. elite Winter Cup competition. Over the years, he won nine All-American honors.

In 2010, Ruggeri was an alternate on the U.S. squad at the World Championships.

At the 2011 Pan American Games, Ruggeri won gold on high bar and silver on parallel bars.

At 2012 US Nationals, Ruggeri finished 7th in the all around. A member of the U.S. senior national team, Ruggeri hoped to compete in the 2012 Olympics. However, he was not selected. He finished 6th in the all around at Olympic Trials.

As of March 2013, Ruggeri worked as a gymnastics coach and trained for elite competition. In April 2013, Ruggeri participated in a World Cup competition and won gold on vault and high bar. In recognition, the United States Olympic Committee named him as their male athlete of the month. On February 6, 2014, he underwent surgery (meniscectomy) for a meniscus tear in the right knee. He was an alternate on the U.S. men's team to the 2014 world championships.

...
Wikipedia