COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Exactly one month before competition gets under way in the Netherlands for the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, the U.S. men’s team converged on Colorado Springs September 17-19 to train as a unit before heading across the Atlantic in October.
On the docket at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Trainer Center (USOPTC) was a three-day camp where the delegation focused on collaborative training, team building and mentally preparing for the competition in Rotterdam. Patty Hoopes. Danila Leykin. Kameron Nelson. Frederick Richard. Shane Wiskus. Yul Moldauer. Each gathered for a camp where Junior National Team members were in attendance, but the World Championships team took a “camp within a camp” approach.
“At a typical National Team camp, there’s a lot of intermingling and collaboration on apparatus between the juniors and seniors to help foster that team environment,” Men’s Program High Performance Director Brett McClure said. “For Worlds camp, the senior team truly operates as a separate entity. They want to ensure there are no question marks left in their plan by the time they’re on the plane to Europe.”
Athletes kick off the first day of training Thursday with a big “USA” chant before dispersing to begin the warmup process. As a joint camp with the U.S. men’s Junior National Team, the juniors stay in the larger gym while the Worlds team heads to the back gym.
Following along to a YouTube video, the seniors have a brief yoga session, where some find inner peace while others find humor at the expense of their less-flexible teammates.
The two teams then switch locations, and everyone heads off to get reps on different apparatus. It’s a lighter morning practice, so while they train, the athletes and coaches take small breaks between rotations to chat and joke around. But as soon as its time for a new training set, they snap back into focus.
“The guys are already acting autonomously and are ready to go, it’s amazing to see,” said Men’s Program Vice President Jason Woodnick. “They’re coming together on their own – having their own team meetings and strategizing for Rotterdam as a squad.”
That’s the goal of the preparatory camp in Colorado Springs, and this team is already ahead of the curve. For the first World Championships featuring team competition since 2023, the American men are gearing up to hopefully improve on their team bronze from Antwerp.
The traveling replacement athlete for Rotterdam, Yul Moldauer won a floor exercise bronze at his first World Championships appearance in 2017 and was part of the bronze medal-winning team in 2023. He has seen more camps than any athlete on the floor in Colorado Springs.
“This is one of the first Worlds camps I’ve been to where it wasn’t a selection event, so this definitely isn’t as stressful,” Moldauer said. “But they are kind of all the same in a way. You get to know the guys a bit more, learn as much as you can about their gymnastics, and that trust makes it easier on you going into the competition.”
After a brief lunch break, the seniors head right back to training, going one apparatus at a time and cheering on their teammates as they hit each routine. The practice is scheduled to last 2.5 hours, but the team decides to extend it by an hour to get in some extra reps – something the staff and coaches were impressed by and encouraged to see.
As the day comes to a close, USA Gymnastics’ Apparel and Footwear Partner, Nike, gifts the gymnasts carry-on luggage filled with USAG athletic apparel, decals, sneakers, and the uniforms they will wear during Worlds competition this October.
With their goodies secured, the athletes finish Day 1 with dinner and a team meeting and get ready to do it all again the next day. They sleep on-site at the USOPTC, which adds to the team atmosphere.
Friday’s practice is a much lighter training day, providing athletes a chance to get in front of some cameras. On one side of the gym, several members of the team record TikToks and funny videos. On the other side, gymnasts speak with the media about their plans heading into Rotterdam. The practice ends with the juniors and seniors filming themselves taking on a random social media challenge.
The camp concludes Saturday with an intrasquad competition, where the senior team simulates World Championships competition. The gymnasts go all out and try to hit each routine as if they were at the arena and under the spotlight in Rotterdam. Air Force Gymnastics, the junior National Team, and friends and family serve as the audience and fill the gym with deafening cheers.
After the intrasquad is over and the team circles up to end camp, the athletes decide to run one more pommel horse rotation to improve on their performance and ensure that they can meet the challenge, even if tired from a full competition.
“We got to see what worked and what didn’t, and now we have exactly four weeks until Rotterdam,” McClure said. “There’s plenty of time to fine-tune routines, finalize the plan and get some recovery in before Worlds.”
And that’s a wrap for the 2026 edition of the U.S. men’s World Championships Prep Camp. The gymnasts and staff all head back to their home training bases to continue tuning up until it’s time to leave the States.
Up next on the camp schedule are the U.S. women, who head to Crossville, Tennessee September 29-October 1 for selection camp. There, they will compete for the opportunity represent the country at World Championships, which are set for October 17-25.
