Paul Ruggeri III

Paul Ruggeri III was born on November 12, 1988, in Syracuse, New York. He began his gymnastics journey in 1995 at Central New York Gymnastics. He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School before committing to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pursue collegiate gymnastics. During his college career from 2008 to 2012, Ruggeri achieved significant success, including winning the NCAA national championship on the horizontal bar in 2008. He repeated this feat in 2009 and added a parallel bars national title. In 2012, he secured another NCAA national title on vault and earned the Nissen-Emery Award, which recognizes the nation’s top senior male gymnast. A highlight of his collegiate years was contributing to the Illini’s national team championship win in 2012. He accumulated nine All-American honors throughout his time at the University of Illinois, despite redshirting his 2011 senior year due to an ankle ligament injury.

Transitioning to his senior elite career, Ruggeri became a member of the U.S. Men’s National Artistic Gymnastics Team. He was an alternate for the World Championships in 2010 and 2014, eventually making his first World Championships team in 2015, where the U.S. team finished 5th and he placed 9th on vault. His international career is marked by his performances at the Pan American Games, where he earned a gold medal on the horizontal bar and a silver on parallel bars in 2011. In 2015, he contributed to Team USA’s gold medal win, helping them secure their first team gold in twenty years at the Pan American Games, and also took home a bronze medal on the horizontal bar. He consistently ranked among the top gymnasts in national competitions, achieving notable finishes at the U.S. Nationals and Winter Cup Challenges, including a gold on the horizontal bar at the 2016 P&G Championships shortly before his retirement. After his gymnastics career, Ruggeri announced he was pursuing a nursing career.