Chris Brooks

Chris Brooks enters his first season as Nebraska’s assistant coach in 2018. He will coach NU’s vault and floor squads.

Brooks, who announced his official retirement from competition in August of 2017, is a former Olympic gymnast. He was named to the five-man United States men’s gymnastics Olympic team and competed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The United States finished in fifth place overall at the 2016 Olympic Games, while Brooks finished 14th in the individual men’s all-around competition.

At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Brooks finished in first on the parallel bars, while finishing second in the all-around and on high bar as he earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

In one of his final competitions before his retirement, Brooks finished first on high bar at the 2017 Winter Cup.

Brooks was a member of the U.S. World Championship Team in both 2010 and 2015, while serving as an alternate in 2011. He finished sixth on high bar at both the 2010 and 2015 World Championships.

Brooks won four gold medals and a silver medal at the Pacific Rim Championships in 2012, winning the team championship, all-around, still rings, high bar, while finishing second on pommel horse. He was also a member of the gold-medal winning squad in the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships team competition.

He won gold on high bar at the U.S. National Championships three times, in 2006, 2010 and 2015. Brooks also took silver on the parallel bars at the 2010 U.S. National Championships. He also posted silver-medal-winning performances in 2011 on high bar and in 2015 on parallel bars at the U.S. National Championships, while winning bronze on parallel bars in 2011 and 2012 and in the all-around in 2015.

At the 2016 P&G Championships, he finished first on parallel bars and second in the all-around and on high bar, while taking in first on high bar, second on parallel bars and third in the all-around at the 2015 P&G Championships. He also won the all-around competition at the Winter Cup twice, in both 2011 and 2014.

Brooks was also an accomplished gymnast at the collegiate level. He was a four-year letterwinner at Oklahoma where he was a seven-time All-American. With the Sooners, Brooks led his team to an NCAA title in 2008, and a third-place team finish in 2009. He finished third on floor exercise as a senior in 2009.