Ian David Gunther[1] is an American artistic gymnast and social media content creator. He is a 4-time NCAA team champion, and an MPSF team champion with Stanford.[2] Individually, he was a high bar bronze medalist at the 2023 Winter Cup,[3] and placed 8th all-around.[4] He was described in 2023 as a "star to watch" and an "NCAA standout" by Olympics.com.[5]
| Ian Gunther | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian David Gunther | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 10, 1999 Houston, Texas, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior elite | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2021 (USA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Stanford Cardinal (2019–23) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Thom Glielmi | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
Gunther was born in Houston on September 10, 1999.[2][6] He attended Westside High School in Houston, class of 2018.[7] At Stanford, he majored in product design, graduating 2022; and completed an M.S. in sustainability science & practice.[8]
Gunther has suffered from osteochondritis dissecans of the knee from his intense gymnastics training. He had surgery to correct it in 2015.[9]
Gymnastics career
Gunther began in gymnastics at age 4 and a half.[10] During his career, he has been an NCAA All-American 10 times.[8] In 2017, he was a gold medalist on rings and parallel bars at the Junior Olympic national meet.[10] Also, he was formerly a member of the US Senior National Team. [11] In 2022, he received some media attention for breaking a high bar in half.[12]
At Stanford, he has been a teammate to Asher Hong, Jeremy Bischoff, Riley Loos, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Khoi Young, and others where they won four NCAA championships together.[13]
Gunther's favorite event is pommel horse.[2]
Gunther was MPSF Gymnast of the Week in for a week in March 2010.[14]
Work on other forms of media
Gunther received media recognition for his work on Collyge, an app rivaling TikTok in the short-form video market.[15][16] The app launched in March 2023.[17]
Competitive history
| Year | Event | Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | |||||||||
| 2016 | U.S. National Championships (15-16) | 19 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 11 | 16 | |
| 2017 | RD761 International |  | 5 | ||||||
| Winter Cup | 27 | 33 | 30 | 23 | 33 | 35 | 27 | ||
| U.S. National Championships (17-18) | 10 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 15 |  | 5 | ||
| 2018 | Winter Cup | 14 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 13 | | |
| Elite Team Cup |  | ||||||||
| Senior | |||||||||
| 2019 | Winter Cup | 36 | |||||||
| NCAA Championships | | 28 | 4 | ||||||
| 2020 | Winter Cup | 10 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 9 | 6 | |
| 2021 | NCAA Championships | | 5 | 4 | 7 | ||||
| U.S. National Championships | 8 | 22 | 11 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 6 | ||
| Olympic Trials | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 2022 | Winter Cup | 13 | 31 | 10 | 14 | 34 | 20 | 4 | |
| NCAA Championships | | 6 | 5 | ||||||
| 2023 | Winter Cup | 8 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 13 | | ||
| NCAA Championships | | 14 | 10 | 17 | |||||
| U.S. Classic | 12 | 47 | 39 | 50 | 40 | 11 | 17 | ||
| U.S. National Championships | 16 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 28 | 19 | |||
| 2024 | Winter Cup | 11 | 9 | 6 | |||||
| U.S. National Championships | 21 | 13 | 27 | 8 | |||||
References
Further reading
- Zafran, Zach (April 16, 2022). "Vaulting into the spotlight: Men's gymnastics' success shapes greater support". The Stanford Daily.
- Grabb, Madeline (May 11, 2023). "Stanford men's gymnastics: Building a culture, and then a dynasty". The Stanford Daily.
