Conner was born on March 28, 1958, the son of Harold Conner and Jacqueline May (née Hulsey, later Wolthausen; 1931-2000), and grew up in Morton Grove, Illinois. He has two siblings, Michael and Bruce. He first became involved in gymnastics at school and his local YMCA. He was later on the gymnastics team at Niles West High School, where he graduated in 1976.
He later attended the University of Oklahoma to work with coach Paul Ziert on the gymnastics team. He eventually graduated from OU in 1984, where he was an All-American and won the 1981 Nissen Award as America's best gymnast.
He won the 1972 U.S. Junior National Championships when he was 14 and the U.S. Gymnastics Federation All-Around championship when he was 17, and was the youngest member of the Olympic team during the 1976 Summer Olympics. He also won a team all-around gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games.

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