2021 Olympic Trials Recap
Photos by Jessica Frankl
The 4-Man Team
Brody Malone, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus, and Sam Mikulak are the four gymnasts who will be repping the Red, White, and Blue for Team USA in Tokyo. Soon they will be facing off against the world’s best and fighting for a team medal against Russia, Japan, and China. These men certainly have the talent to put up a good fight and hopefully will bring home some hardware for the United States.
Stanford’s Brody Malone (2021 NCAA and USA Champion) once again stole the show, winning Trials by a commanding three points. It only took Malone one event to take control of the entire competition. After a strong showing on all six events day one, he left the competition in first place with a 85.25. At this point, his spot on the Olympic team was looking nothing less than solidified. However, on the second day of competition it was evident that he was going to leave no questions on the table and his fate in the hands of the selection committee. He knocked down big set after big set, finishing the competition in first place with a 86.35 all-around score. This was plenty to deservingly clinch him a spot on Team USA.
Although Malone’s performance was stellar, his focus, confidence, and composure throughout the weekend was most impressive. It is safe to say that everyone trusts Brody Malone and is looking forward to watching him lead Team USA in Tokyo. Also in his favor, Malone will be joined by his Stanford Head Coach, Thom Glielmi, who was named the Olympic Team Head Coach.
Behind Malone in second place was the former Oklahoma Sooner Yul Moldauer. For years, Moldauer has been a top competitor in the United States dating back to his days as a club gymnast. However, back in February he had a slow start to his season leaving many questioning where he could fit on the Olympic team. This past weekend, Moldauer answered all of those questions. He had a flawless day two performance, scoring an 84.95. After sticking his high bar dismount, Moldauer’s face was lit with emotion. His dream of becoming an Olympian had just become a reality. His second place finish in the all-around, and top three finishes on floor, pommel horse, and parallel bars helped him clinch his ticket to Tokyo alongside Malone.
Shane Wiskus headed into Trials with a lot at stake after finishing the USA Championships with a disastrous high bar routine. But after two extremely consistent days of competition, Wiskus finished in third place. Not only did he bounce back from USA’s, but he impressively took third place on high bar, proving his value to Team USA . Wiskus’s parallel bars was where he shined most, capturing near mid-14 performances on both days of competition. Unlike Malone and Moldauer, Wiskus’s Olympic status was unclear after the competition. He had to wait a long 20 minutes before being notified from the selection committee that he was part of Team USA.
2x-Olympian Sam Mikulak wrapped up his weekend in fourth place. Two weeks ago, the former Michigan gymnast struggled on pommel horse and parallel bars at the USA Championships. This came as a surprise to many because they are traditionally two of his strongest events. At Trials, his performance was once again sub-par on these two rotations. Because of this, he quickly put his 3x Olympic dreams in jeopardy. However, his strong performances on floor and high bar proved that he could be a medal contender in Tokyo. After deliberation from the selection committee, Mikulak was selected for his third Olympic games.
University of Minnesota Takes Credit After Abandoning the Program
On September 26, 2016, Shane Wiskus announced his commitment to the University of Minnesota, becoming the top talent since the legendary John Roethlisberger to represent the Maroon and Gold. Wiskus put the program back on the map, highlighted by a second place team finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships and now culminating in an Olympic berth for the Minnesota native.
The incredible achievement comes just eight months after the University’s Board of Regents, at the suggestion of Athletic Director, Mark Coyle, voted to cut the Men’s Gymnastics program. The decision dealt a major blow to the future of the sport that was already teetering on the edge of extinction. Oddly enough, the University took the moment to celebrate the achievement of Shane Wiskus, who represents a program that no longer exists.
The decision to cut the team to save relative pennies did not make sense. The muddled effort to justify the decision with empty excuses from Mark Coyle and the University did not make sense. And now, the tone deaf Athletic Department continues the charade with a tweet that once again, does not make sense.
The 2021 Olympic Team will be represented entirely by current and former NCAA athletes, reminding the community just how vital the pipeline is to the success of the United States on the world level. Shane Wiskus, who had his program taken from him, perhaps serves as the best reminder of this vitality. The continued success of Wiskus should serve as a painful reminder to the University of their poor decision, not an opportunity to take the spotlight away from the achievements of someone they tried to hinder.
Alec Yoder Wins the Specialist Spot
In a seemingly three-man race for the +1 specialist spot representing the United States, it was Alec Yoder who came out on top over Stephen Nedoroscik and Alex Diab. Heading into Olympic Trials, it looked as though Nedoroscik was the favorite after an impressive first place finish at USA Championships in Fort Worth. The Penn State Alum attempted an upgraded set, adding a G Flop and falling, opening the door for Yoder. With a big performance of 15.05, the momentum shifted massively in Yoder’s direction with one more day of competition left.
Nedoroscik needed a huge score on day two and while he hit a 6.7 difficulty routine, it was not his cleanest performance and his score of 14.65 was not enough to catch the committee’s attention. Alec Yoder then officially punched his ticket to Tokyo after a solid 14.55 set to finish the weekend.
While most of the attention was on the pommel horse duel, Alex Diab quietly became a possible medal contender on still rings. The Illinois Alum was dominant, scoring a 14.50 and a 14.90 to grab a spot as the specialist alternate. Diab’s lack of international experience could have been a factor, but his performance was nonetheless impressive.
The Rest of the Field
The four-man Olympic squad seemed pretty clear after USA Championships so the rest of the field was fighting for the alternate spots. The specialist slot was a battle between two pommel horse gurus and a strong man. That battle went down to the wire – Alec Yoder ultimately got the nod, Alex Diab will serve as an alternate, and Stephen Nedoroscik will come back in hopes of a different outcome in three years for the Paris games.
The men who captured the four alternate spots are Brandon Briones, Akash Modi, Allan Bower, and Cameron Bock. This team was selected to cover in-case of injury to the Olympic squad, but also fill in if someone on the Olympic squad contracts COVID-19.
Stanford’s Brandon Briones might not be one of the big names that are talked about during the NBC broadcasts of USA Championships and Olympic Trials, but after a fourth place finish at Championships and a fifth place finish at Olympic Trials, he has cemented himself as a face of the future for American men’s gymnastics. Briones’ methodical demeanor throughout the trial process was indicative of his extremely consistent performances over the four days of competition. The Cardinal now have a current Olympian and an Olympic alternate on their roster which bodes well for them over the coming years.
Akash Modi has yet again been selected as an Olympic alternate after receiving the same honor in 2016. Modi, a former Stanford standout and NCAA all-around champion has been a mainstay on the international scene as a member of the Senior National team throughout this Olympic cycle. He is still training in Palo Alto, California with members of the current Stanford team, and his leadership and experience have clearly contributed to the continued tradition of excellence for the Cardinal.
Allan Bower has been the single most consistent athlete throughout this past Olympic Cycle. A former Oklahoma standout and captain, Bower led the Sooners to three NCAA titles. Bower has been selected as the alternate at the past three world championships teams, even after a finish on the podium at USA championships. It seems that all that he has wanted is for a shot to compete on the highest stages and he has been so close every year for the past five years. Bower will maintain his sport as an alternate for team USA at this year’s Olympic games after a seventh place finish at trials.
The final spot on the alternate team is Cameron Bock’s. The last spot on this team was clearly a difficult decision between Bock and his younger Michigan teammate, Paul Juda. Both have had massive accomplishments this year – Bock won the Winter Cup in February, and Juda placed second at the Pan American games to win team USA a specialist spot at the Olympics. Bock and Juda both competed at Pan Am’s and Trials in which Juda beat Bock both times, but it seems that the committee decided that Bock’s strengths fill some weaknesses that Juda’s don’t. Both gymnasts have bright futures regardless of their selection to the alternate team.
Contributions from Max Soifer, Bailey Perez, and Ben Cooperman.