ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — The gymnastics world championships get underway here today, marking the first opportunity for three men's teams and three women's teams to lock down spots at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
We open the competition with a full slate of men's qualifying sessions.
In subdivision 2, Russia and Ukraine take the spotlight and compete alongside Korea and Cyprus. The U.S. men, highlighted by Frederick Richard and Danila Leykin, compete in the final block of the day, subdivision 4, against Japan, Great Britain and Australia.
USA TODAY's Nancy Armour is on the ground in Rotterdam bringing you the latest live updates, reactions, analysis and highlights. Follow along.
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04:15 AM ET, October 17 2026, Nancy ArmourChina and Japan are in a class by themselves, combining to win nine of the last 10 world titles and six of the last seven Olympic gold medals. Japan is defending champion in both, having won gold at the Paris Games in 2024, one year after claiming the world title in Antwerp.
Russia is the only team to interrupt China and Japan's run of dominance, winning the world title in 2019 and Olympic gold in Tokyo. But after being absent from the world stage for much of the last four years, they're a question mark. They were silver medalists at the European championships in August, finishing about a half-point behind Britain.
The American men are the reigning Olympic and world bronze medalists. But U.S. champion Fred Richard is the only holdover from those squads.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LIVE: Russia and Ukraine share gymnastics' biggest stage before US men chase LA28 spots
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