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]
LAS VEGAS -- Day 2 of Winter Cup was a high energy affair. Buoyed by a packed venue at the Cashman Convention Center, the energy level was palpable and many routines reflected it. After recovering from an achilles injury, Sam Mikulak's first competition since the U.S. Championships can be deemed a [...more]
Melton, Moldauer, Mikulak, Maestas and Modi are at the top of the Winter Cup Day 1 leaderboard. It's far from over, but what a refreshing mix of veterans and relatively new faces we are seeing at the top of the pack. Sam Mikulak had a rough go of it on PB, but he slowly crept up in the standings to place 2nd. He also had four top 10 finishes, including the top score on [...more]
If you're a men's gymnastics fan, Las Vegas will be the place to be this weekend. A two-day extravaganza kicks off the Olympic year. Winter Cup will play a major role in determining who will go to Rio. The meet is not as important for members of last year's World Team, but it has huge ramifications for those not currently on the Senior National Team. Eighteen gymnasts will emerge from Winter Cup as [...more]
Guest blogger Matthew Rusk was one of the lucky ones able to make the journey to London. Rusk is a significant contributor of insightful gymnastics commentary, and is well known in the gymnastics community. The Indiana University sophomore submitted the following gem, which chronicled his trip to London. He saw two days of event finals, along with watching other sports like beach volleyball, taekwondo, diving and handball. Sounds like Matthew had a great trip, and we're pleased to have him share [...more]
Three days of event finals wrapped up the 2012 Olympic men's gymnastics competition. Dominating the competition were multiple medal winners Zou Kai (China) and Denis Ablyazin (Russia). Zou Kai defended his 2008 FX title (15.933) and could only muster a bronze on HB (16.366). Ablyazin achieved his goal of qualifying on three events (FX,SR,VT), and won bronze on FX (15.80) and silver on VT (16.399). Every apparatus provided outstanding performances. In fact, [...more]
