NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale University Athletics family is deeply saddened by the passing of its celebrated gymnastics coach, Barbara Galleher Tonry. Coach Tonry dedicated her life to Yale, the women's gymnastics program and its student-athletes for nearly 50 years.
 
Every single accolade achieved by a Yale gymnast can be attributed to Tonry as she has been the head coach of the program since its inception in 1973. She was the longest-tenured coach in NCAA gymnastics.
 
"Yale Gymnastics would not be where it is without Barbara Tonry at the helm. She devoted her life to the creation, development and success of this program. For nearly five decades, she prioritized the student-athlete experience and helped hundreds of Bulldogs achieve greatness at Yale and beyond," said Victoria M. "Vicky" Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics. "Barbara is beloved by generations of alumnae and alumni and she has left a legacy that will be felt for decades to come."
 
Yale gymnastics won its first-ever meet thanks to the tutelage of Tonry as well as the first-ever Ivy League Women's Gymnastics Championship in 1977. She would go on to serve under six different Yale University Presidents.
 
Her teams went on to capture 16 Ivy Classic championships, including the Bulldogs' most recent Ivy title in 2019. Coach Tonry's team seemingly got better with age as that season was part of a campaign in which the Elis made 39 additions to the school's top-10 performance lists.
 
In 2017 and 2018, Tonry led the Bulldogs to back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships – the Eli's first in school history. She was named ECAC Coach of the Year in 2017 and earned the country's highest distinction as USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Head Coach of the Year in 2018.
 
Yale gymnasts also achieved impressive individual success under Tonry. She coached 23 ECAC champions, 20 Ivy all-around champions and nearly 100 Ivy League champions as 92 Bulldogs reached the top of the podium. A dozen of her student-athletes earned Academic All-Ivy League honors.


 
The 1987 NCAA Eastern Region's co-Coach of the Year, Tonry boasts one of the finest athletic backgrounds of any coach.
 
She is a member of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Hall of Fame, the National Tumbling and Trampoline Hall of Fame and the Texas Hall of Fame. A 1961 graduate of North Texas, she won the national AAU tumbling championships nine times, six of which were consecutive (1952-1957). Tonry also won the first women's national AAU trampoline championship and was a 10-time All-American. She went on to earn a spot on the 1964 U.S. Olympic training squad, a phenomenal feat given her age at the time.
 
Her athletic resume also includes a Texas mixed doubles tennis championship and a Texas AAU 3-meter diving title. At the time she was also an excellent golfer. In addition, she was twice named a finalist (1954, 1958) for the prestigious Sullivan Award, presented each year to the nation's top amateur athlete.
 
Tonry was recognized as one of the most talented female athletes of the 1950's. If tumbling or trampoline had been Olympic sports at the time, she would have been the favorite for gold medals.
 
Tonry served on numerous gymnastics committees, including the National Association for Intercollegiate Gymnastics and the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Hall of Fame Selection Committee. In addition to her degree from North Texas, she obtained a master's degree from Southern Connecticut University.
 
She and her late husband, Don, a former Olympian, NCAA champion gymnast and Yale men's gymnastics coach from 1962-80, wrote the Sports Illustrated Guide to Gymnastics.
 
The Bulldogs host the annual Don Tonry Invitational each February.
 
Yale Athletics will forever be indebted to Coach Barbara Tonry and the Tonry family for their indelible impact on not just the gymnastics program and athletic department, but to the entire Yale Community.