2025 U.S. XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIPS - THE BUILD UP - DAY 1

After a historic 2024 for Men’s Gymnastics in the U.S., the highest level of competition our nation has to offer is back in action this weekend in New Orleans. The 2025 U.S. Championships are a major step towards the LA Olympics, and more importantly, the World Championships later this fall. 

The Pulse of the Arena

With podium training beginning on Tuesday, these Championships are nearly a week-long excursion. For many athletes, this podium training is used merely to test these specific sets of equipment or practice visualizing their routines in the same atmosphere as their competition. Although, some athletes, especially in the first year after an Olympic cycle change, may use this time to dial up their new skills. Starting in 2026, a new addition to the athletes’ podium training routines may also include working on floor choreography elements, thanks to recent FIG changes. This year, USAG social media accounts did an exceptional job showcasing highlight videos, action-shot photos, and even fun interviews with the athletes throughout the week. During podium training, fans were enthralled to see Donnell Whittenburg return his eponymous dismount off of rings, Asher Hong’s new parallel bars dismount and Stephen Nedoroscik swingin’ horse. With over 50 Instagram posts in the last three days alone, it’s clear the new-look USA Gymnastics is here to stay. Also included in the content were fun challenge videos, such as flexibility and reaction time tests. USAG even treated fans to a Wednesday press conference featuring the four Paris Olympians here in New Orleans. Needless to say, the energy in NOLA is off to a great start. 

Eyes on the Prize

There are seven National Titles to earn this weekend, after combining the scores from both competition days. As the ‘never give up’ trend continues to become more prominent in our sport, many veterans have chosen to continue competing (Brody Malone, Donnell Whittenburg, and Stephen Nedoroscik amongst others). As a whole, this field of competition features 25 National Champions. Although, they’ll truly need to earn their spots back to the top of the podium - this is one of the most talented groups of gymnasts this country has ever seen. As the Junior Men continue to push difficulty thresholds in recent years, it simultaneously prevents our previous champions from becoming complacent in their training. We’re in for exciting gymnastics over the next few years! 

What’s at Stake

Along with National Champion honors, these competitors are also vying for spots on the USAG-funded National Team, and again, those coveted spots on the 2025 World Championships team. Only six athletes will be named to the World’s team, and many of these selections may be determined by math alone, with no discretionary talk. The 2025 World Championships have a unique structure, set by the FIG. Thanks to these rules, USAG decided to allow automatic spots for individual event champions, if the athlete has a difficulty score they deem to be internationally competitive. These numbers are based upon Asian and European competitions earlier this year. While exact difficulty scores cannot be predicted for this weekend, there are athletes who have reached these numbers in previous meets, meaning if they hit their routines, they could automatically qualify to this year’s World Championship team. While many outsider fans are aware how much gymnasts strive to make the Olympic Games, qualifying for a World Championship team is nearly just as rewarding, and is a true testament to the athletes’ work. 

...After Night 1 of Competition...

What Happened?

Asher Hong declared dominance, taking a commanding 4.480 lead at the halfway point of the 2025 Xfinity Championships. Starting the night with one of the hardest vaults in the world, and ending it with a 14.818 on rings sums up how good Hong was on night one. With the U.S. bonus system, the rising Senior at Stanford totaled an astounding 85.585. Rounding out the top five after night are Fuzzy Benas (OU), Colt Walker (Stanford), Fred Richard (Michigan), and Josh Karnes (Penn State). Once again, these finishes prove how important our NCAA culture is in the U.S.

As predicted, there were numerous athletes who earned eligibility towards an automatic World Championships spot! Because of their difficulty numbers on Thursday, these athletes will be named representees of Team USA in Jakarta if they become a National Champion on Saturday:

Floor: Kameron Nelson

Rings: Donnell Whittenburg

Vault: Asher Hong

Parallel Bars: Colt Walker

Keep in mind, there may be additional automatic selections if an athlete achieves the required difficulty score on Saturday and wins the apparatus after combining both final scores.

A Competitor’s View

From a fan’s perspective, this may be their once-a-year gymnastics competition they sit down for. Though for each and every male gymnast in the country, it’s the golden dream. For the athletes who competed tonight, it’s one of the most important days of their lives. You can see how mistakes may happen when an, ‘I made it here, now I have to perform well’ mentality is adopted. Or, for veterans it’s, ‘Every sacrifice I’ve left on the table has been for this.’ 

The feel on the floor of gymnastics competitions can truly make an impact on the athletes’ performance. Yul Moldauer has been a huge advocate over recent years for the attendance of competitions making such a big difference, as well as how fun international competitions can be. Regardless of attendance, USAG tried to enhance the atmosphere tonight via a ‘Squad Showdown’, essentially holding a team competition within this individual elite session. Each squad consisted of a rotation group full of athletes from (primarily) one-to-two club or collegiate teams. 

All of this to say, for a squad like EVO to see an upsetting start on High Bar, or maybe Stanford seeing pommel horse woes continue, it was impressive to see the leadership and camaraderie between the teammates to finish the competition with good energy throughout. Maybe the Squad Showdown played a part in that, maybe not, but it’s nice to see USAG’s awareness and attempts to help the athletes. 

Behind The Threads

Let’s take a quick moment to shout out the Stanford, Penn State, and EVO guys wearing TURN gear tonight! Additionally, all EVO singlets had an American Flag patch, giving an even greater sense for these National Championships. And of course, Fred Richards once again debuted his new uniform, as he continues this journey with TURN to give male gymnasts a new look. Some updates from his Winter Cup uniform include tighter leggings, with improved design across all uniform pieces. 

That’s it for night one! With Hong’s staggering lead in the all-around, and a few athletes primed for their first World Team selection, Saturday’s competition could prove to be historic for American gymnastics.

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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!