DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 22, 2018 – The U.S. men had their opportunity to train on the competition equipment during podium training at the 2018 World Championships, Oct. 25-Nov. 4, in Doha, Qatar at the Aspire Dome. At this World Championships, the three countries that medal in the team competition advance to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The women’s podium training is tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET, and fans can watch it live at usagymworlds.com.

The men’s team includes Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, California/U.S. Olympic Training Center; Akash Modi of Morganville, New Jersey/Stanford University; Yul Moldauer of Arvada, Colorado/University of Oklahoma; Colin Van Wicklen of Magnolia, Texas/U.S. Olympic Training Center; and Alec Yoder of Indianapolis/Ohio State University. Allan Bower of Chandler, Arizona/University of Oklahoma, is the alternate.

Moldauer won the floor exercise bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, where he also finished seventh in the all-around. Mikulak is competing in his fourth World Championships and won the team bronze at the 2014 World Championships. Modi, Yoder and Van Wicklen are competing in their first World Championships.

The men started on vault, which mimics the order for the qualification round, and had a solid podium training session. The men compete in the qualification round in Subdivision 6 on Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. ET.

"Today’s podium training went as well as expected,” said Brett McClure, the men’s high-performance director. “Our main objective was to simulate the mornings and start time for competition, get used to the lighting and equipment and get one step closer to finalizing our lineup for the qualification day. We had a few rough spots on a couple events that need to be worked out, but we have plenty of time to make those adjustments. I believe we accomplished our goals and have a clear game plan for the next few days of preparation and are looking forward to day one of competition!”

“It (podium training) was exciting,” said Modi. “Bright lights. Everyone’s here. Japan was following us, and Kohei (Uchimura) is the greatest gymnast of all time. It was good. We got used to the equipment, threw some routines and, for the most part, I think we all feel pretty good.”

“Podium training was an incredible experience, just being out there with some of the best gymnasts in the world,” said Van Wicklen. “I am proud of our team, and I think we did a good job getting acclimated with the equipment.”

The women’s qualifying round is Subdivision 5 on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. The finals schedule is: Oct. 29, men’s team, 4 p.m.; Oct. 30, women’s team final, 4 p.m.; Oct. 31, men’s all-around, 4 p.m.; Nov. 1, women’s all-around; Nov. 2, event finals (men – floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings; women – vault, uneven bars), 4 p.m.; and Nov. 3, event finals (men – vault, parallel bars, horizontal bar; women – balance beam, floor exercise), 4 p.m.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that empowers and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has already taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to usagym.org.