Winter Cup 2025 is underway in Louisville, Kentucky. The first elite gymnastics contest of the season! Yet the contest has come with its own rough marks. Such as? Since the announcement, several gymnasts withdrew from the contest because of injury. The impact was heightened by the withdrawal of names such as Stephen Nedoroscik and Brody Malone from the event. However, on February 21, the battle began with high anticipation for new champions. Still, bad luck hasn’t stopped. The hard one came from the Illinois gymnast’s injury.

On February 21, the updates shared by Gymnastics Now claimed that Illinois’ Ian Sandoval faced a major fall during his routine on rings. Later, the actual update on the level of injury came to the public. It alleged that Sandoval was left to keep him upright following the fall. With a slight change in his situation, he was taken out of the arena using a spine board. Horrifying? Yes! Devastating? Yes! But why? Because in the ongoing Winter Cup, Ian Sandoval could have been someone, rising above the occasion. How, you may ask? His performance before the meet holds the answer!

Last month, Sandoval played a prominent role in helping Illinois gymnastics overpower No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers. The contest actually came as a blessing to him, earning him three event titles (in floor exercise, parallel bars, and all-around events). Also, such fireworks on the mat helped him to win something huge—the title of College Gymnastics Association Rookie of the Week. That was the third such title in the freshman’s resume. And now talking about more accolades, the 19-year-old had three in line to enter his list in the same week. 

The Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, Big Ten Freshman of the Week, and Inside Gymnastics’ NCAA Gymnast of the Week! Such accomplishments undoubtedly bolstered Sandoval’s drive before he arrived in Louisville to compete in the Winter Cup 2025. But sadly, nothing worked on Friday! The initial jerk in the rings event was uncontrollable for him, and the fall soon followed. A tremendous blow to everyone following men’s gymnastics! 

Now, Illinois Gymnastics will have to find a replacement for Ian Sandoval. Although the freshman himself had found his place in Illinois’ regular lineup to replace injured Sam Philips. However, there had been a tremendous blow for Illinois’ rival in college gymnastics, the Oklahoma Sooners, just before the Winter Cup. Want to know how?

The race for claiming big in the gymnastics Winter Cup sees another absence 

The Oklahoma gymnastics program has never given a slight relief to Illinois in the NCAA gymnastics competition. However, in Winter Cup 2025, the program has sat in the same row with Illinois. How is that so? Before the first day of the Winter Cup men’s gymnastics contest, the Sooners published the list of five gymnasts ready to enter the contest. However, the list had two names missing. One, Yul Moldauer. The defending champion withdrew from this year’s contest, followgiving a shock to the fans. On the other hand, another name from the Sooners missed the train this time. 

The list didn’t have the sophomore Tas Hajdu. Notably, Hajdu had qualified to compete in the contest. But injury pushed him out of the berth. The pain of missing him in the contest was visible in Mark Williams’ tweet. Williams, Oklahoma men’s gymnastics coach, wrote in his tweet, “Tas Hajdu made the hard decision to pass on his qualified spot due to shoulder soreness in order to rest for second half of NCAA season.”

Just like Sandoval in Illinois, Hajdu had been a prominent name in the Sooners’ list. On February 8, he displayed his talent against the No. 3 Stanford. But the fangs of injury have hurt everything. May these brave gymnasts regain their health soon!