INDIANAPOLIS, June 2, 2017 – The International Gymnastics Federation announced today the naming of a still rings dismount after 2016 Olympic alternate Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./U.S. Olympic Training Center, because he was the first athlete to compete the skill at an FIG competition. Whittenburg performed what is now known as the “Whittenburg” at last month’s Koper World Challenge Cup.
The “Whittenburg” is a triple back pike dismount off the still rings and is valued as a H skill on a scale from A to H, with H being the most difficult.
Whittenburg is the first U.S. gymnast to have a skill on the still rings named for him since 2008 Olympic medalist Raj Bhavsar (pull through momentary front lever press to Maltese).