Charles Lakes was born on August 6,1964 and is a retired American gymnast.
11 Facts About Charles Lakes
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Charles Lakes was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and participated in the 1988 Olympics.
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Charles Lakes left college in 1986 to concentrate on making the Olympic team in 1988.
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Charles Lakes was a member of the 1985 and 1987 World Gymnastics Championships US teams.
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In 1988, Charles Lakes was criticized by some gymnasts, including Kurt Thomas for not training enough.
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However, Charles Lakes won gold at Nationals on the floor exercise.
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Charles Lakes took 1989 off and then returned to competition in 1990.
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Charles Lakes attempted a comeback in 1992 but placed 18th and claimed the final spot in the US Olympic trials that year.
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Charles Lakes was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2003.
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Charles Lakes was the first black American gymnast to compete in the Olympics.
11.
Charles Lakes said that he had not had racial problems in the sport and that he was not black "in terms of separating myself or black pride", but that he did embrace being a role model for younger minority athletes.