2025 U.S. XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIPS - THE AFTERSHOCK - DAY 2
Posted: Aug 13 2025
Asher Hong claimed his second All-Around national title, three athletes earned their first-ever spots on a World Championships team, and men’s gymnastics officially entered what can only be called The Triple Back Era.
Final Flight, Final Say
Compared to Night 1, fans were treated to a sharper display on the execution front. In a country that has leaned heavily into difficulty in recent years—often at the expense of cleaner execution, especially in the opening night of major meets—Saturday’s finals were a refreshing showcase of precision and artistry. Some routines simply lived up to the immense hype, like Brody Malone’s high bar, Asher Hong’s floor and Patrick Hoopes’ pommel horse. Others were breakout performances, signaling a promising new wave of world-class talent—such as Taylor Burkhart’s high bar and Alex Nitache’s vault. And while this year’s all-around battle was firmly in Hong’s hands, the next generation is already on the chase. Fuzzy Benas, Josh Karnes, and Jun Iwai have their sights set on that top step—and they’re not afraid to make Hong earn it.
The Turning Point
With the recently-added domestic bonus system, Hong’s victory was via a record-setting margin. This could make fans wonder - why even watch when one guy is that much better than his competitors? Well, as discussed in the preview, gymnastics is a sport with many battles. There were still six individual event champions to be named, National Team spots to determine an athlete’s funding for the next six months, and obviously the other five athletes heading to Jakarta in less than 10 weeks time.
The battle for the World’s Team was closely contested all weekend long, and it seemingly came down to the 24th rotation. One of the very last routines of the weekend was Colt Walker’s parallel bars. On night one, Walker hit an excellent routine, a 14.408 with his difficulty bonus. Walker performed enough difficulty on night one for an automatic bid to the World’s Team should he win that apparatus. Although, the routine on night two was shaky, nerve-ridden, and ultimately concluded with a sat double front dismount. This meant Walker not only fell short of an automatic berth, but it also pushed him outside of the top three finishers on parallel bars, removing him from discretionary talks for a World Championship team altogether. This moment opened the door for the selection committee to truly consider Donnell Whittenburg and Brody Malone. Whittenburg’s draw is for still rings - he holds the highest difficulty score in the world there, and he nailed that routine one night one. The fascinating incident with his dismount on day two, in the committee’s eyes, was a rare mistake. Malone, on the other hand, experienced a meltdown on high bar during Night One, but bounced back spectacularly on Night Two, delivering the most difficult routine in the world and proving he remains a world-class contender. By securing a top-three finish on still rings, Malone earned committee consideration, though fans know he is truly headed to the World Championships for a shot at a second title on high bar.
The United States of… Pommel Horse?
Ten years ago, Team USA was notoriously behind many other countries on Pommel Horse in both difficulty and execution. With woes from the London Team Finals and many years of mistakes at major domestic competitions, the falls and mishaps almost became routine. Now, though, we are witnessing more and more all-around athletes thrive on pommels, and their counterpart specialists are some of the best PH athletes this country has ever seen. This is not only a shoutout to Patrick Hoopes and Brandon Dang—who set history as two pommel specialists selected into their first World Championships teams—but it also continues to confirm we are entering a new era of U.S. Men’s Gymnastics. Hoopes earned the highest PH score in the world (even without the domestic bonus) on night one with a 15.050 (6.0 difficulty). He followed that performance with a 14.800 on night two to earn the National Championship. Dang gave him a run for his money, though, out-scoring him with a 14.900 on night two. Both of these athletes have positioned themselves into having the unprecedented opportunity to win Gold at their first World Championships!
2 Pieces of Air, Six Somersaults
If you’re living under the gymnastics rock, you may still not know about Kameron Nelson being the first athlete to ever compete two triple somersaults in the same exercise, and he evidently holds the highest difficulty score in the world on floor. Nelson solidly landed all four triple somersaults (on floor) of the weekend, as Team USA clearly deemed his routines competitive enough to compete, and decided to send him to World’s. The recent Ohio State graduate has plans to join many others at Evo Gymnastics, while simultaneously launching a personal brand, ‘Triple.’ Nelson’s aerial ambitions don’t stop on floor, he also competes a triple somersault dismount off of still rings and high bar. Yet another new-generation standout for the United States.
Onward
Finally, the selection of the National Team at each National Championships is a true milestone every year, and truly impacts the lives of many. The 2025 Senior U.S. National Team is:
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Crew Bold
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Brandon Dang
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Riley Loos
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Brody Malone
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Frederick Richard
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Colt Walker
Amongst the group are a healthy mix of veterans and rising stars. For athletes like Crew Bold or Dante Reive, this selection may carry a little extra weight—perhaps serving as the spark that fuels them into next season with renewed motivation. The exact same can be said for Brody Malone and Donnell Whittenburg. And there it is—the beauty of our sport.
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Written by Aiden Whitehead
Hello gymnastics fans! I’m Aiden and I’m super excited to join the team at TURN as the 'Principal Staff Writer'. I began competing in gymnastics at the age of six and immediately fell in love with the sport. I am currently in the midst of my senior season as a competitor, serving my third year as a team captain for the Georgia United GymACT team. Last December, I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, with Sports Media Certification as well. I've already acquired a few years of media experience, working a variety of roles with GymACT, Virtius, and Neutral Deductions. In addition to competing, I am an active women’s team coach at Oconee Gymnastics Center, as well as the Technical Director of the Georgia Men’s Gymnastics Judging Association. Evidently — even though I am competing, coaching, and judging — I can never get enough of this sport, so I’m excited to take this new role as well!
