(AP) — Kurt Thomas, the first U.S. male gymnast to win a world championship gold medal, has died. He was 64.

Thomas’ family said he died Friday. He had a stroke May 24, caused by a tear of the basilar artery in the brain stem.

After competing in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Thomas won the floor exercise in the 1978 world championships in Strasbourg, France, for the first U.S. men’s title.