Moldauer U.S. Men's Artistic World Championships Team

Moldauer U.S. Men's Artistic World Championships Team

World medalists Moldauer, Whittenburg headline six-person 2021 U.S. Men’s Artistic Gymnastics World Championships team.

Sep 20, 2021 by FloGymnastics Staff
Moldauer U.S. Men's Artistic World Championships Team

Based on the outlined selection procedures, World individual bronze medalists Yul Moldauer of Wellington, Colo./5280 Gymnastics (floor, 2017) and Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./Salto Gymnastics (vault, 2015) automatically qualified to the 2021 U.S. Men’s Artistic World Championships team based on their performances at the Worlds selection camp September 14-18 at the Colorado Springs Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. 

Pommel horse specialists Stephen Nedoroscik of Worcester, Mass./Penn State University and Alec Yoder of Indianapolis, Ind./Ohio State University also posted individual event scores that secured them automatic World team berths. The World Team Selection Committee named Alex Diab of Glen Ellyn, Ill./University of Illinois and Brody Malone of Belfast, Tenn./Stanford University to the remaining team spots.

The 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships will take place October 18-24 in Kitakyushu, Japan. As is customary for World Championships that directly follow an Olympic Games, this year’s event will not feature a team competition. Athletes will vie solely for individual championships, including the all-around and apparatus titles. 

 During in-camp competition, Moldauer notched the highest two-day all-around score (158.300), edging Cameron Bock of Tustin, Calif./University of Michigan (158.150) for an automatic bid. Moldauer also delivered the competition’s high score on floor exercise, garnering a 14.300 and a 14.450 across both days of competition. Moldauer was a finalist on floor exercise at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Nedoroscik and Yoder each posted two pommel horse scores that would have secured them a spot in the event final during the Tokyo Olympics and single-day scores that would have placed them in the top-three in the Olympic final, earning them automatic spots. Nedoroscik’s 15.500 on Day 2 of competition led the field and would have landed him second in Tokyo. He earned a 14.800 on Day 1. Yoder, a Tokyo Olympic finalist on pommel horse, posted a 15.200 on Day 1, equaling his score from Olympic qualifications and besting the bronze-medal score of 14.900. He earned a 15.050 on Day 2. 

Whittenburg solidified his spot on Day 2 of competition with a two-vault score of 14.800 (15.250 and 14.350), which would have taken gold in Tokyo. He scored a 13.625 on Day 1 with vaults of 14.000 and 13.250.

Diab posted the high score on still rings with a combined average of 14.700 behind scores of 14.300 and 15.100. Malone topped the field on horizontal bar with scores of 14.100 and 13.350. Malone finished fourth on horizontal bar at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with a 14.200.

Bock and Akash Modi of Morganville, N.J./Stanford University were named non-traveling replacement athletes.