A navy commander added a feather to his cap, after being inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

A feature on the Navy website shared that Cmdr. Mark Calderon, currently the requirements officer for the Chief of Naval Air Training, was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in a ceremony and luncheon held as part of the USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show in San Jose, California, on June 30.

Cmdr. Calderon represented the USA at four World Championships, from 1980 to 1986, and won the 1982 World Synchronized Trampoline title with Stuart Ransom. When he qualified for the U.S. Trampoline Team for a fourth time in 1986, he was already serving in the United States Navy.

Cmdr. Calderon has a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin, and was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy in August, 1992. He received his “Wings of Gold” and was designated a naval aviator in September 1995, and eventually became an instructor pilot in the P-3 Orion and the training aircraft T-44.

Calderon shared: “I always appreciated the fact that I was allowed by the Navy to pursue qualifying for the U.S. team back in 1986… They gave me time off to train and even paid for some of the travel expenses, all while I was a third class petty officer.”

Chief of Naval Air Training Rear Adm. William Sizemore shared: “If he brought half as much dedication to gymnastics as he has brought to his jobs in the Navy, it does not surprise me that he was the best in the world… He is a superb naval officer and a great example of the type of talented people we have serving in the United States Navy.”