Justin Edward Spring (born March 11, 1984) is an
American gymnast from Burke, Virginia.
Currently, Spring is entering his first season as a
coach with the University of Illinois men's
gymnastics program. Spring, one of the Illini's most
talented gymnasts, finished his competitive career
in 2006 and now looks to help lead the Orange and
Blue to Big Ten and NCAA Championship titles in his
new role on the coaching staff.
In 2006, Spring strung together one of the best
seasons in Illinois gymnastics' history, which
culminated in earning the 2006 George Nissen-Emery
Award, an honor that goes to the top senior male
gymnast in the nation. A double titlist at the 2006
NCAAs, Spring took home the crown in the high bar
and defended his title in parallel bars. In
addition, he carded five total All-America honors
with a second-place finish in all-around, third on
floor exercise and fourth on vault.
Along with his individual honors, Spring helped the
Illini to runner-up finishes at the 2006 NCAA and
Big Ten Championships. The finish at NCAAs came
half-a-point shy of team-champion Oklahoma, and just
short of the Orange and Blue's 10th national title.
Overall, the Burke, Va., native is a four-time NCAA
Champion, winning a pair of titles on high bar in
both 2004 and 2006 and back-to-back crowns on
parallel bars in 2005 and 2006. Along with his
national recognition, Spring earned 2006 Big Ten
Gymnast of the Year accolades after winning the
all-around crown at the Big Ten Championships. In
all, Spring finished his illustrious career being
named to the All-Big Ten first team three times,
grabbed Big Ten Gymnast of the Week laurels six
times and earned Inside Gymnastics' NCAA Gymnast of
the Week honors three times.
During his four-year career, Spring garnered three
Big Ten Championships with titles on parallel bars
and all-around in 2006 and on the floor exercise in
2004. Spring is a two-time recipient of the Dike
Eddleman Athlete of the Year award (2004, 2006),
which goes to Illinois' top male and female athlete.
A face and name that will forever be remembered in
Illini record books, Spring left the Fighting Illini
a 12-time All-American, the most since Abie
Grossfeld earned 12 from 1957-59, and holds the
Illinois record on the floor exercise, vault,
parallel bars and high bar.
Spring's success has extended far beyond his honors
in Big Ten and NCAA competition. He represented the
U.S. at the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics
Championships in Melbourne, Australia on floor
exercise, parallel bars and high bar as a member of
the 2005 U.S. National Team. At 2005 World
Championships, Spring finished 10th to qualify as a
reserve on high bar and finished 12th on parallel
bars. In 2005, Spring became the first Illini to
ever win a U.S. National title with his two-day
combined high bar score of 18.750, while also
scoring a 9.500 on high bar at the 2005 American Cup
to take home the silver medal behind only Olympic
champion Paul Hamm. The Illini gymnast finished
fourth on the high bar at the 2004 Visa U.S.
Championships with scores of 9.600 and 9.650 in the
two-day format, and competed for Team USA at the
2003 World University Games in Daegu, South Korea,
advancing to the finals on floor. In 2006, Spring
garnered a selection to the 2006 Men's World
Championships team, but had to withdraw due to
injury. Spring graduated from the University of
Illinois in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in speech
communication.
