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)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
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.

Early Life and Education

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 area. From a young age, Jair was very interested in architecture. He loved building famous city structures with Play-Doh and creating entire cities from Legos.

Even though he enjoyed sports like basketball, football, and soccer, his smaller size (he was about 5 feet 4 inches tall) made him more suited for gymnastics. He was very athletic and found his passion there.

Jair went to Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. He later received a full scholarship for gymnastics to Stanford University.

Gymnastics Career

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, including broken bones in his ankle, arm, finger, and both wrists.

In 1985, he began training with coach Rick Tucker in Columbia, Maryland. His father drove him to every gymnastics meet. During these trips, they would listen to jazz and hip-hop music and talk 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 was the all-around men's champion at the meet.

College Gymnastics Achievements

At Stanford University, Jair Lynch was a key member and captain of the men's gymnastics teams in 1992 and 1993. Both of these teams won the NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship. His coaches at Stanford were Sadao Hamada and David Juszczyk.

He also placed seventh in the all-around competition at the 1991 World Sports Fair.

Olympic Journey

At the 1992 United States Gymnastics Olympic Trials, Jair Lynch placed fourth in the all-around. He became one of the first African American gymnasts to join the U.S. Olympic Team. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Jair 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 his strength and overcome past injuries. He had suffered a broken left hand, a ruptured sternum, and a torn right rotator cuff. He trained with Fred Stephens, a strength coach, to build his upper body strength. This helped him avoid more injuries. He also worked with 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.

Post-Competition Roles

After his competitive career, Jair Lynch continued to contribute to sports. Starting in 2004, he served on the board of directors for the United States Olympic Committee. He held this position until the end of 2012.

Gymnastics Skills Named After Him

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 Code of Points in 2013.

Business Career

Jair Lynch graduated from Stanford University in 1994. He earned degrees in civil engineering and urban design. He was even nominated 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 in real estate development for Silicon Graphics, a computer company.

In 1998, Jair moved back to Washington, D.C., and started his own company, Jair Lynch Development Partners. His company began with smaller projects, like community centers and affordable housing. Over time, it grew to manage larger projects. Jair's company focuses on developing neighborhoods to create stable communities. By 2015, his firm had developed over 1.6 million square feet of property in and around Washington, D.C.

Involvement in D.C. Olympic Bids

Jair Lynch was part of the team that helped Washington, D.C., try to host the Olympic Summer Games.

• In 2001, he was on the team that submitted D.C.'s bid for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
• In 2014, he was also a member of the team that submitted the city's bid for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games.

Personal Life

Jair Lynch looks up to Jackie Robinson, the famous African American baseball player who broke racial barriers in sports.

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

See also

In Spanish: Jair Lynch para niños