1984 Olympics
Following surgery and intensive physical therapy, Conner squeaked onto the 1984 Olympic team, after competing in only one of the two qualifying events, the Olympic Trials. He had begun competing in the earlier National Championships, but several serious falters, including a headfirst landing on the floor exercise, made it clear that he had not yet made a full recovery. Conner was granted a petition by the USGF to consider only the Trials scores, with which he was selected for the team.
After intense training to return to the level of competition he had reached before his injury, Conner's consistently good scores (including a perfect 10 on the parallel bars) helped the US men's team earn its first team gold. Conner took sixth place in the individual all-around competition, with his total separated from gold medalist Koji Gushiken by .35 points.
He qualified for two individual event finals, on floor exercise and parallel bars. He had a lackluster floor exercise, scoring a 9.75 for fifth place. In the parallel bars final just hours later, he scored a perfect 10 to win the event.
Former rival Kurt Thomas, who had retired from gymnastics, was a commentator for ABC Sports. Coach Paul Ziert saw his assessments of Conner's performance as being more fair and accurate than any others'.
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