In one of the most exhausting, exciting and suspenseful Olympic Trials ever staged, five gymnasts emerged to comprise the 2016 U.S. Men's Gymnastics Olympic Team. Not one single member earned an automatic bid, by virtue of placing in the top 2 all-around and top 3 on events. However, Sam Mikulak came close enough to make his selection a fait accompli. Mikulak ran away with the [...more]
ST. LOUIS, MO -- In his last Junior competition, Matt Wenske (165.30) completed a sweep of all the major Junior all-around titles. He added the U.S. Championships title to the one he earned at last month's JO Nationals. Wenske also won national titles on FX, SR and VT. The latter one nicely complements the Senior VT title he [...more]
ST. LOUIS, MO -- Couldn't have asked for a more interesting Day 1 at the 2016 Men's Gymnastics Olympic Trials. U.S. champ Sam Mikulak rallied from a near disastrous opening two rotations to maintain his commanding lead in the overall selection standings. Mikulak (90.65) gave up at least a point and a half with major miscues on PB (14.95) and HB (14.30). He then settled down and proceeded to crank out four [...more]
ST. LOUIS, MO -- Day 1 produced no real surprises. Last month's JO Nationals winners are sitting at the top of the leader board at the halfway point of the Junior Men's P&G Championships. Oklahoma-bound and 2016 U.S. Senior Men's vault co-champ Matt Wenske (84.45) has a whopping lead (5.2 pts) over his competition in the 17-18 division. He also sits in the lead on four [...more]
By Shelli Koszdin The first stage of the selection process for the United States men’s Olympic team (the P& G Championships) has concluded, and as the athletes head towards the Olympic Trials in St. Louis, the race is starting to take shape. Some events are looking highly probable (Sam Mikulak going to Rio), some others…not so much. There is still a lot of race left to run, and there can (will) be surprises. Who foresaw Joey Hagerty [...more]
Sho Nakamori is a familiar figure at many men's gymnastics meets. Among many other competitions, he is a fixture at state/regional meets, various invitationals, Winter Cup and NCAA Championships. He became a Brevet Judge a few years ago, meaning he is qualified to judge any elite-level meet in the world, and he has the [...more]
HARTFORD, CT -- Sam Mikulak put to rest any doubts he is still America's best all-around gymnast. Mikulak put together two solid days of routines to win his 4th straight U.S. title by almost two points. He tallied three top-4 scores that included runner-up finishes on PH and PB. If not for a miscue on HB, he would have taken the 2nd spot on that event. Placing 2nd on PH was huge for Mikulak, increasing his leverage even more. Barring a disaster at Trials, [...more]
One-fourth of the U.S. Men's Olympic Team selection process is done, so what have we learned? For starters, America's top two all-arounders are sitting at the top. Jake Dalton appears to be in pretty darn good shape. Chris Brooks still has plenty of fight left. Three current collegiate stars are in the hunt for the U.S. all-around title. The young guns are giving the veterans the fight for their [...more]
By Shelli Koszdin This Friday the top male gymnasts in the United States will begin writing the beginning of the last chapter in the story of who among them will represent their country at the Olympic Games. For all of them, it’s a story that began almost as soon as they could walk. The Olympics are just the last page, and the names of most of them [...more]
