ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The 2026 world gymnastics championships is all about the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The U.S. women are trying to win an eighth consecutive team world title, extending a streak that began in 2011. The U.S. men are looking for their third podium finish in a row at a major international event, something they haven’t done in more than 20 years.
These world championships, which run Oct. 17-25, represent the first qualifying opportunity for the next Olympics, which are less than two years away. The top three men's and women's teams here secure their spots for LA, leaving the 2027 world championships in China as the last chance for the remaining nine teams in each field to earn their spots for LA.
Qualifying is the first goal,
but this competition is also about athletes and teams positioning themselves for the Olympics, too, internationally and, perhaps more importantly, domestically.
“These next few years going to be big,” said Hezly Rivera, the lone Paris Olympian among the U.S. women.
Here’s a look at what’s at stake for the Americans at these world championships.
US women chase Olympic berth, eighth straight world title
The top three teams get a bonus along with their worlds medals: A spot in the LA28 field. Everyone else has to wait until the 2027 world championships in Chengdu, China, where the final nine spots in the Olympic field will be determined.
For the U.S. women, this would seem to be a given. They’ve been first or second at every worlds going back to 2003, and they haven’t finished off the podium since 1999. But this is an inexperienced team — Skye Blakely is the only member who’s been at a worlds before — and the competition will be fierce.
Russia is back with a full team for the first time since 2019. The Russian women easily won the European title in August, but that team is much different than the one Russia has at worlds.
Dutch officials denied visas for Russia’s three best gymnasts: Reigning all-around champion Angelina Melnikova, fellow Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Viktoria Listunova, and Anna Kalmykova, who finished second to Melnikova in the all-around at Europeans. The Russians still have three members of the team who won Europeans, but they are now a longshot for the medals podium.
Italy, silver medalists at the 2024 Olympics, finished second at Europeans even without Paris beam champion Alice D’Amato, who is out with a shoulder injury. China had some impressive routines in winning the titles at the Asian Championships and Asian Games — Google Zhang Qingying on beam, you’ll thank me — and Japan is on the rise.
The Americans don’t want to be the team to lose the title streak at the world championships, but there’s additional reason for urgency. Suni Lee, the Tokyo all-around champion who came back from a debilitating kidney disease to win three more medals in Paris, is training again and plans to return to competition next year. Same for Shilese Jones, a two-time world all-around medalist.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey was good enough in her limited training time this season to be the non-traveling alternate for the world team. Paris gold medalist Jordan Chiles is coming back. Paris alternate Joscelyn Roberson is expected back. Katelyn Ohashi is still training.
And we’re still waiting for Simone Biles to decide whether she’s coming back or not.
So, there’s going to be a lot of competition for not many spots, ratcheting up pressure for athletes to seize any opportunity to prove themselves when they have it.
US men face difficult path to Olympic qualification
The U.S. men’s chances for Olympic qualifying are more difficult. Japan and China are on a different level than the rest of the world and they have been for decades, combining to win nine of the last 10 world titles and six of the last seven Olympic gold medals.
Japan is the reigning world and Olympic champion, but China bested its longtime rival at both the Asian Championships and the Asian Games earlier this year.
That would seemingly leave one podium spot left these worlds, with at least two other teams besides the Americans in contention for it. Britain just won the European title with a deep, experienced team. Russia was second, and had the silver and bronze medalists in the all-around.
And, like the U.S. women, the men have as much talent back home as they do in Rotterdam. Brody Malone, the three-time U.S. champion who won his second world title on high bar last year, is taking this season off but is expected back next year. Asher Hong, the 2025 U.S. champion, is out with an injury.
Stephen “The Pommel Horse Guy” Nedoroscik didn’t make the world team after falling at nationals, but he’s still training.
"I'm definitely expecting for us to go and absolutely crush it and put ourselves on the podium," said Danila Leykin, who will be making his senior world championships debut after winning three medals at junior worlds last year. "We're going to go for it all and have expectations of being on the podium, and it being a matter of what color the medal will be."
The Los Angeles Olympics will be here before long. It's never too early to stake your claim to them.
Who's on US women's roster?
- Skye Blakely (Frisco, Texas/University of Florida)
- Charleigh Bullock (Spotsylvania, Va./Capital Gymnastics National Training Center)
- Reese Esponda (Shenandoah, Texas/World Champions Centre)
- Claire Pease (Sunnyvale, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics)
- Hezly Rivera (Oradell, N.J./WOGA Gymnastics)
- Traveling replacement athlete: Dulcy Caylor (Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre)
- Non-traveling replacement athlete: Jade Carey (Phoenix, Ariz./Oregon State University Training Center)
Who's on US men's roster?
- Patrick Hoopes (Lehi, Utah/U.S. Air Force Academy)
- Danila Leykin (Sarasota, Fla./EVO Gymnastics)
- Kameron Nelson (Columbus, Ohio/EVO Gymnastics)
- Frederick Richard (Stoughton, Mass./University of Michigan)
- Shane Wiskus (Spring Park, Minn./EVO Gymnastics)
- Traveling replacement athlete: Yul Moldauer (Arvada, Colo./University of Oklahoma)
- Non-traveling replacement athlete: Cooper Kim (Grand Ledge, Mich./Stanford University)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Olympics start now for US gymnastics. Here's what's at stake at worlds
