Fred Richard of Michigan ended up at the top of the leaderboard after night one of two, at the USA Men's Olympic Trials. This is key because the top AAer after the two days of competition will be automatically named to the Olympic Team, as long as he finishes in the top 3 of at least 3 events. He had the top marks on FX and HB. National Champ Brody Malone, formerly of Stanford, was 2nd, at 0.5 back, and within reach of the automatic slot. Former Gopher standout Shane Wiskus was 3rd while Michigan's Paul Juda was 4th, further strengthening his bid. Stanford's Asher Hong recovered from a poor showing at the US Championships to finish tied with former OU star Yul Moldauer, in the fifth highest scoring position. Khoi Young of Stanford, who looked to be well set for one of the five spots available after finishing 3rd at the Championships, was just 12th AA today, with problems on, PH, a key event for the US. He reportedly has been battling tendonitis in his knees, however, his high mark of the day came on VT. Several specialists are in the mix, particularly on PH, due to the lower scores on that event from the top AAers.
The Men's Olympic Team selection uses an established criteria, documented here: LINK Basically, the average or top 3 of 4 scores from the two days of the US Championships and Olympic Trials are used. The highest combinations of team scores using the 5-4-3 and 5-3-3 formats are calculated. If the Trials winner places in the top three of at least three individual event, they are placed automatically and the combinations are narrowed to just those containing the athlete. Then a complicated series of rules based on those scores are used to narrow down the team. However, the rules provide for additional qualitative and quantitative criteria to help separate out the potential teams, including past success on the international scene.
Link: USA Gym
We have our first commit of the graduiating class of 2026! Addie Sarisky, a L10 from Olympic Dreams, has committed to a full scholarship offer from Bama, starting in 2026-2027. In 2024, she won the UB title and placed 9th AA at the Women's Development Program (WDP) L10 Nationals. She also finished 4th on the FX. She also finished 10th AA at the 2023 WDPs.
Link: Insta
Ellie Black won the AA during the Day 2, to take the 2024 Canadian Championships. On Day 2, Iowa commie Aurelie Tran was 2nd and Minnesota signee Ava Stewart was third. Iowa signee Sydney Turner was fifth. NU's Emma Spence was 7th in the combined standings, with Iowa State's Frederique Sgarbossa 8th. Iowa's Cassie Lee was 11th and Utah signee Clara Raposo just behing in 12th. Former Bama star Shallon Olsen won VT. Black won UB and FX whiel Stewart won BB.
In the CCP10 (Canadian Level 10) 16+ division, concluding on Saturday, Raphaelle Perreault won the AA title. CMU signee Zoe Zimmerman was 2nd and CMU commit Alexandra Reddick was 3rd. BGSU signee Kayla Shaw was 4th, while TWU signee Jordan Loock was 6th. GWU signee Zoe Safran was 10th while Yale commit Allie Forbes was 12th AA. Shaw won the VT while Loock took the UB. Zimmerman placed 1st on FX while 2026 grad Emma Orr won BB.
At the 2024 Canadian Championships, veteran Ellie Black led the women's senior standings after Day 1. In 2nd was Iowa commit Aurelie Tran while Minnesota signee Ava Stweart was 3rd. Nebraska's Emma Spence was in 6th, while Iowa signee Sydney Turner was 8th. Another Iowa signee, Cassie Lee, was 9th, while Iowa State signee Frederique Sgarbossa was 10th, just ahead of Utah signee Clara Raposo in 11th.
In the CCP10 (Canadian Level 10, 16+) division, Raphaelle Perreault leads the field after the prelims. CMU signee Zoe Zimmerman is 2nd and BGSU signee Kayla Shaw is 3rd.
Link: Senior Elite
Link: CCP10 Day 1 Results
Tim Levandowski, an assistant at Brown, has mutually parted ways with the program.
Link: Insta
Iowa has hired Jen Llewellyn as their new Head Coach. She was previously the Head Coach at Washington, for the last three years. Her husband was an assistant there. Previously. Llewellyn was Head Coach at Lindenwood.
Link: Iowa Release
Margie Foster-Cunningham will retire after 39 years as Head Coach at GWU. She was one of the longest tenured coaches in any sport in the NCAA. A nationwide search for a replacement will be launched.
Link: GWU Release
Missouri has elevated Whitney Snowden to Associate Head Coach.
Link: X
Simone Biles won the women's competition, despite a fall on her overrotated Yurchenko double pike. She also won every event, including UB. Her 119.75 combined total was 5.9 points ahead of Florida signee Skye Blakely, in second. Blakely stayed strong and consistent on Day 2, improving on FX but coming in a bit short on her new Cheng vault. Gator Kayla DiCello was 3.05 points back in 3rd (110.8), narrowly holding off Sunisa Lee (110.65), UCLA's Jordan Chiles (110.4) and new senior Hezly Rivera (110.35). Lee had problems on VT but improved on UB and BB, her critical events. Chiles was one of a few that improved on their Day 1 scores, despite a problem on BB.
The picture has become very unclear on the women's side, with Shilese Jones sitting out the Championships and several gymnasts counting misses. Blakely's new Cheng vault was literally what the selection committee ordered (to all the gymnasts), and her relatively consistent performance across two days bodes well for her. Suni Lee also did what she had to, showing a potential to add scores in the mid to high 14s on UB and BB. A lot will depend on the trials, and the ability of Jones to recover from her bicep injury in time.
Link: Results
Brody Malone capped off his comeback from a devastating knee injury to win his third US title. The former Stanford star and NCAA champ lead the rest of the field by over 2 points. In 2nd was Michigan star and 2023 NCAA AA/PB/HB Champ and 2023 World AA Bronze medalist Fred Richard of Michigan. In third, 0.7 behind, was 2024 NCAA Champ and Stanford star Khoi Young. Young won a silver on PH and VT at the 2023 World's. Rising to 4th with an excellent day was former OU star, NCAA Champ and Olympian Yul Modauer. He won the PB with the highest mark of the day. Malone was first on HB while Richard was 1st on FX. Former World Champion Stephen Nedoroscik, ex-PSU, won the PH. Another specialist, Alex Diab, a former Buckeye star, won R. In fifth AA for the day, with the same mark as Moldauer, was former Gopher standout and Olympian Shane Wiskus. However, his marks, when compared to the Top Four finishers, don't add to a potential team total.
The US men finished with a Bronze medal at last year's World Championships. With the addition of Malone and the improvements of the others, the US will look to put pressure on the Chinese and Japanese teams. The Olympic Trials will be critical in selecting the team. If the top 4 remain healthy and consistent, then just one spot remains. Based on this week's results, the Top four leave lineup gaps on PH, Rings, and High Bar. These three events were also the events where the US lagged the leaders at the last World Championships. Currently, the gymnast who adds the most to the top four is specialist Nedoroscik, but he competes only on PH. Not far away from that max potential but adding depth on more events is Paul Juda of Michigan, who finished 5th AA. If he can consistently hit FX, PH, VT and HB at the Trials, he will have a strong argument. R is another weak event but the gymnasts with the highest scores there don't quite add as many points overall, due to improvements made by the Top 4. Donnell Whittenburg, who as 7th AA is also in the mix, as is Asher Hong of Stanford, who finished 10th AA and has struggled this season. Whittenburg could also disrupt the Top 4 with a strong performance at Trials, and Juda is said to be holding back upgrades.
Link: Results
Nebraska (W) has hired Sam Scherwinski as an assistant. He has been an assistant at Lindenwood.
Ohio State (W) has hired Quest Hayden as an assistant. He has spent the last three seasons at Iowa. Previous to that he was at UNC and a volunteer assistant at PSU. He competed for PSU and was a US National Team member.
Link: Release
Alabama has hired former Illinois assistant Ross Thompson as their new assistant. He was at Illinois for two years.
Link: Release
Former US and NCAA Champ and Olympian Brody Malone showed his progress in coming back from a knee injury suffered in March of 2023, by taking the lead on Day 1 of the US Championships. In 2nd was Michigan's Fred Richard. In 3rd was Donnell Whittenburg, who shared the same score with Stanford's Colt Walker. The rest of the top 10 are 1.25 points behind Whittenburg, after some big mistakes from some of the favorites. The Olympic team race is very much unsettled after Day 1 of the Championships.
Link: USAG Release