HUskers.com | 11
Jim
Hartung
Assistant Coach | Nebraska (1982) | Ninth Season
Honors & Awards
• Two-Time U.S. Olympian
• 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist
• Seven-Time NCAA Event Champion
• Two-Time NCAA All-Around Champion (1980, 1981)
• Three-Time NCAA Still Rings Champion (1980, 1981, 1982)
• Two-Time NCAA Parallel Bars Champion (1981, 1982)
• 22 All-America Awards
• U.S. National Team Visitation Coach
One of gymnastics’ most highly decorated
individuals, Jim Hartung has dedicated his life
to bettering the sport he loves. Over the last
30 years, Hartung has worked in all aspects of
the gymnastics community from competing to
judging and now coaching, and has earned a
level of success paralleled by few in his field.
A product of the prestigious Omaha Sokol
gymnastics club, Hartung came to Nebraska
as a freshman gymnast in 1979 and made an
outstanding debut on the collegiate scene
under then-head coach Francis Allen.
Hartung captured All-America honors on
five of six events during his freshman season
and went on to amass a total of 22 AllAmerica awards and seven NCAA individual
titles over the next three years. Hartung’s
accomplishments included a pair of NCAA allaround titles in 1980 and 1981. He is one of
only 13 men in history to claim two NCAA allaround titles and one of only 11 to accomplish
the feat in back-to-back seasons.
He also took home three straight NCAA still
rings crowns from 1980 to 1982 and added a
pair of parallel bars titles in 1981 and 1982.
Hartung led the Huskers to their first four
NCAA team titles and captured Nebraska’s first
Nissen-Emery Award winner in 1982.
The Omaha native finished his collegiate
career as the most highly decorated gymnast
in Nebraska history. He still owns the program’s
all-around record (58.55), which he earned in
1981.
His tremendous collegiate career led
Hartung to the Olympics before he even had a
diploma in hand, as he was first selected to the
U.S. team in 1980.
Hartung repeated the honor in 1984 after
graduating from NU and helped the United
States to its first and only team gold medal at
the summer games in Los Angeles, Calif.
After competing in the Olympics as an
athlete, Hartung went on to spend nearly
a decade as a visitation coach for the U.S.
national team and became one of the top 10
gymnastics judges in the world.
In his first year with the Huskers in 2006,
Hartung made an immediate impact. His handson work ethic and knowledge of gymnastics
technique brought a new level of training to the
Nebraska gymnastics program.
Hartung has four children, Jim, Nick, Jake
and Hannah.
Nebraska Career Records
Assistant Coach Records
Year Record Pct.
2006 6-8 .429
2007 3-9 .250
2008 4-7 .364
2009 4-7 .364
2010 6-5 .545
2011 5-8 .385
2012 5-9 .357
2013 5-8 .387
Career 38-61 .384
Jim Hartung competed for Nebraska from 1979 to
1982, earning 22 All-America awards.
10 OLYMPIANS | COACHES & STAFF