Jair Lynch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jair Lynch
Full name	Jair K. Lynch
Country represented	United States
Born	(1971-10-02) October 2, 1971 (age 53) Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height	162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	1991–1997
College team	Stanford Cardinal
Eponymous skills	Lynch (horizontal bar)
Medal record Men's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 0 Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta Parallel bars

Jair K. Lynch (born October 2, 1971) is an American gymnast who won a silver medal in the parallel bars at the 1996 Summer Olympics. After his gymnastics career, he became a successful real estate developer in Washington, D.C.. He started his own company, Jair Lynch Development Partners, in 1998.

Jair Lynch's Early Life and School

Jair Lynch was born on October 2, 1971, in Amherst, Massachusetts. His father, Acklyn Lynch, was from Trinidad, and his mother, Martha Fernandez Lynch, was from Bogotá, Colombia.

When Jair was three years old, his family moved to Washington, D.C.. He grew up in the Shepherd Park neighborhood. From a young age, Jair loved building things. He would use Play-Doh to copy famous buildings. He also built entire cities with Legos, which were his favorite toy.

Even though he enjoyed basketball, football, and soccer, Jair was not very tall. He was about 5 feet 4 inches (1.62 meters) tall as an Olympic gymnast. This made team sports harder for him. However, he was very athletic and strong.

Jair went to Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. After high school, he received a full scholarship to Stanford University for gymnastics.

Jair Lynch's Gymnastics Journey

Jair Lynch started gymnastics when he was eight years old. By the age of 12, he already dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete. Before he turned 18, Jair faced many injuries. He broke his ankle, arm, finger, hand, and both wrists.

In 1985, he began training with coach Rick Tucker. His father drove him to every gymnastics meet. During these drives, they would listen to jazz and hip-hop music. They also talked about art, music, and sports.

At the 1987 USA Gymnastics' Junior Olympics, Jair won the championship for the pommel horse. The next year, he achieved the highest score ever at the Junior Olympics. In 1990, he became the all-around men's champion at the event.

College Gymnastics Success

At Stanford University, Jair Lynch was a key member of the gymnastics team. He was also a team captain in 1992 and 1993. During those years, his teams won the NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship. His coaches at Stanford were Sadao Hamada and David Juszczyk.

In 1991, he placed seventh in the all-around competition at the World Sports Fair.

Olympic Dreams Come True

At the 1992 United States Gymnastics Olympic Trials, Jair Lynch placed fourth in the all-around. He became one of the first African American men to join the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, he finished sixth in the parallel bar competition. The U.S. men's gymnastics team placed sixth overall.

Before the 1996 Olympic Summer Games, Jair worked hard to improve. He focused on building his strength, especially for the rings. He also dealt with more injuries, including a broken hand and a torn shoulder muscle. He trained with Fred Stephens, a strength coach, to get stronger and avoid future injuries. He also worked with his former coach, Sadao Hamada, to create routines he felt confident performing.

In early 1996, Jair placed second at the American Cup gymnastics competition. He then won first place on the parallel bars at the Coca-Cola National Championships.

Jair Lynch was chosen as the captain of the 1996 U.S. men's gymnastics Olympic team. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal on the parallel bars. This made him the first African American man to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. He was also only the second American man to earn an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics since 1976.

After Competitive Gymnastics

After his gymnastics career, Jair Lynch continued to be involved in sports. Starting in 2004, he served on the board of directors for the United States Olympic Committee. He finished his time on the board at the end of 2012.

Gymnastics Skills Named After Jair Lynch

Jair Lynch has a gymnastics move on the horizontal bar named after him. It is called the Lynch and involves a specific straddled Tkatchev with a half turn. This move was first performed in 1992 and was officially added to the gymnastics Code of Points in 2013.

Jair Lynch's Business Career

Jair Lynch graduated from Stanford University in 1994. He earned degrees in civil engineering and urban design. He was even considered for a Rhodes scholarship, which is a very prestigious award. In 2006, he was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

After college, Jair worked for three years at Silicon Graphics, a computer company. He worked in their real estate development department.

In 1998, Jair moved back to Washington, D.C., and started his own company. It is called Jair Lynch Development Partners. His company first worked on smaller projects. These included community centers and housing for people with lower incomes. In 2003, his company won a big contract. They managed a $100 million program for the District of Columbia's parks and recreation.

In 2015, his company received a large investment of $120 million. This allowed the firm to buy land and develop bigger projects. Jair Lynch wants his company to develop entire neighborhoods. He believes this helps create stable communities. By 2015, his company had developed over 1.65 million square feet (153,000 square meters) of property in and around Washington, D.C.

Helping D.C. Bid for the Olympics

Jair Lynch was also part of the teams that tried to bring the Olympic Summer Games to Washington, D.C.

He was a member of the team in 2001 that submitted a bid for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. He was also on the team in 2014 that submitted a bid for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games.

Jair Lynch's Personal Life

Jair Lynch has always looked up to Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was an African American baseball player who broke down racial barriers in sports.

Jair is married to Jocelyn Sigue, who is a television and film producer. They have a daughter named Pilar, who was born in 2009.

See also

In Spanish: Jair Lynch para niños