When Paul Hunt took to the uneven bars at the 1981 Nadia Tour, the audience knew they were in for a treat. Hunt had established himself as a National Champion in the United States in 1972 and went on to coach many future athletes.
It was while coaching he came up with the idea to make gymnastics a whole lot more fun by putting a little comedy into routines. His alter egos “Paulette Huntsinova” or “Paulina Huntesque” soon began performing in a variety of gymnastic disciplines including the bar routine you’ll see below.
The audiences love the routines because they are just so fun. Judges have a blast watching too. During one move a judge jokingly comments, “I guess you would call that a back circle.” And although Hunt’s moves are far from official, they still take tremendous skill.
Watch Hunt on the uneven bars for yourself:
And here’s a similar routine filmed from a different angle at the 1983 Womens NCAA Gymnastic Championships at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Viewers also love watching Hunt’s routines. “Hilarious. Doesn’t hide the fact that the dude must have been really strong to be able to do all those stunts,” comments one viewer.
“I love this guy,” says another. “Imagine how hard it must be to look bad but think about how strong he must be to do something like this!”
“True genius! Excellent! It helps to be a gymnast to know how great he is,” notes another viewer. “Fun comedy act even still.”
Hunt’s performance on the mat is equally funny and impressive. You can watch it here.
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