Neil Roderick Thomas MBE is an English artistic gymnast who experienced most of his success in the floor exercises. An inspiration to many young British gymnasts, he was former world silver medalist and Commonwealth Games Champion and one of the most successful British gymnasts to date. He was born in Chirk, Wrexham in Wales on April 6, 1968.
Winner of three gold medals spanning two Commonwealth Games, Thomas also added a world silver medal on the floor in 1993, 1994 as well as finishing 20th at the .
He won a Commonwealth gold medal on floor at Auckland and the vault bronze medal at European Championships in 1990. In 1993 he won the UK’s first World Championship medal in Artistic Gymnastics (silver) 1993. A year later he won a gold medal on floor and became All-around champion and also won the silver medal on floor at World Championships in Brisbane.
Neil Thomas now works as a development officer in the north west of England. He is a member of the Liverpool Gymnastics Club.
He was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to gymnastics and in recognition of his near single-handed achievement in putting British men's gymnastics on the map. He is cousin to TV journalist Owen Spencer-Thomas who also awarded the MBE.
Famous quotes containing the word thomas:
“Incarnate devil in a talking snake,
The central plains of Asia in his garden,
In shaping-time the circle stung awake,
In shapes of sin forked out the bearded apple....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)