In August 1996, Rustam Sharipov reached the pinnacle of gymnastics, standing on an Olympic stage in Atlanta to receive his second gold medal in as many Olympics. The ceremony capped nearly 20 years of training and competition for Sharipov and represented an achievement few athletes ever experience.

Born on June 2, 1971, to a Tajik father and a Ukrainian mother in the Tajikistan region of what was then the Soviet Union, Sharipov began gymnastics training at the age of six. By the age of 15, he was invited to train in Kyiv at the Ukrainian National Center, which also included frequent trips to Moscow to train with the Soviet National Team. By 1992, the Soviet Union had imploded and many of its 15 republics gained independence practically overnight. Nevertheless, at the Barcelona Olympics that year, Sharipov competed as a member of the gold medal winning Unified Team that completely dominated the competition, winning a total of 20 medals compared to the next best team — China with eight.

After those games, Sharipov began competing for the independent republic of Ukraine. In 1994, Sharipov won a silver medal on the parallel bars at the World Championships and the gold medal the following year.

The crowning moment of Sharipov's athletic career came at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta where he won the individual gold medal on parallel bars and was a member of the bronze-medal winning Ukrainian team.

Sharipov was awarded the title of Master of Sport, which was the highest achievable athletic level one could reach in the former Soviet Union, and in 1997 he graduated from Kharkov State in Ukraine.

After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 2000, Sharipov moved to the United States and began his club coaching career at the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Oklahoma, then he moved on to the Houston Gymnastics Academy before returning to Norman, as the Assistant Coach at the University of Oklahoma. After six successful years at OU, including a national championship, Rustam became the head coach for men's gymnastics at Ohio State University in 2011. At Ohio State, Rustam has led the Buckeyes to the Big 10 Championship in 2017, and he has coached several Big 10 and NCAA Champions, as well as 2020 Olympic finalist Alec Yoder.

Sharipov and his wife, Amber, have four daughters: Ksenia, Maya, Isabella, and Lilia; and one son, Raistlin. Rustam Sharipov has traveled all over the world, and with his work ethic and affable personality he has continued to make a lasting positive impact everywhere he has been. And today, he enters the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024.