Gymnastics Community Furious at USADA as World Champion Faces Year-Long Suspension: “Makes No Sense”

Looks like Yul Moldauer’s heartbreak just won’t quit. The Paris Olympics were supposed to be his big comeback, a redemption story after the Tokyo 2021 heartbreak, but now, it feels like the plot’s been twisted before it even got rolling. In a wild turn of events, the former world champ just couldn’t quite make the cut for the 2024 Paris Games. Despite being a beast on the pommel horse and parallel bars, the 27-year-old gymnast couldn’t seal the deal at the U.S. Olympic Trials back in June. And now, it’s like fate’s come for an encore, deepening the sting of that Paris dream slipping away by another setback.

On January 16, Yul Moldauer took to Instagram (which, by the way, he’s now deleted) to announce he’s been hit with a 16-month suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). This suspension means he’s off the mats until January 2026, missing the 2025 World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta. That’s a huge blow, considering how much he’s contributed to the U.S. men’s team’s incredible recent successes.

In his post, he wanted to get ahead of the news and share it himself, saying: “I want to personally share some important news with you before it becomes public. I have received a 16-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) due to a whereabouts violation. I want to be absolutely clear: I have never tested positive for any banned substances in my career. For over a decade, I have proudly upheld the values of clean sport and fair competition.” Of course, the gymnastics world was NOT having it. Fans flooded the comments, voicing their frustration and anger over the decision.

One user hopped into the comments, saying, “This all makes no sense I get that he missed two cause he was sat competitions but it’s not like they can’t d-ug test him there and come on not being able to wait a few minutes for Yul to get there to test him . To me this sounds like a crock of cr-p.” Now, according to USADA, “whereabouts violations” happen in two ways: either by missing a test or failing to file the necessary info. And here’s where it gets a bit tricky for Moldauer—his suspension comes from “missing three required whereabouts updates within a 12 month period.” Yikes, right?

To clear things up, USADA says that athletes in their Registered Testing Pool (RTP), like Moldauer, get notified about being in the system. They have to submit all their whereabouts info. It’s no surprise that elite athletes, like Moldauer, are held to this strict standard, but it’s still raising some serious questions from the community. And this was just the tip of the iceberg as many other users expressed their anger.

Gymternet gets angry over Yul Moldauer’s news!

One user couldn’t believe what they were reading and dropped this in the comments: “This is real? He was at a competition where he did a d-ug test and USADA couldn’t find him?! What bonkers is this?” And honestly, it’s a fair question. Fans were totally baffled, especially since just last year, in May, Yul Moldauer was coming off a gold medal in parallel bars at the Xfinity Championship and totally crushed it with five golds at the 2024 Pacific Rim Championships. So yeah, it’s hard not to scratch your head. Another user jumped in, saying, “this is so stupid, he was literally competing?” Like, how could this even happen when he was out there doing his thing? It just doesn’t add up for the fans.

For anyone not up to speed, whereabouts violations usually lead to at least a year-long suspension, but depending on how serious the situation is, it can be longer. And while 16 months isn’t the longest suspension out there, it’s still a pretty big shock, leaving fans scratching their heads. One user even said, “when i first saw this i thought it was a joke but nope.” Just to throw in some context, Tokyo 2020 Shot put silver medalist Raven Saunders got an 18-month suspension in March 2023 for the same whereabouts issue.

Saunders ended up missing both the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the World Championships in Budapest. But then, Moldauer came through with some real transparency by posting a message before anyone could start throwing out wild guesses. One fan commented, “I’m actually really glad he was able to put this out before people could speculate but omg this is terrible.” Big props to him for putting it out there early to avoid the rumors, but here’s the kicker—he’s since deleted that post.

One user was straight-up fired up, saying,

“It is absolutely insanity that he gets a “missed” test for being at a competition. Like if he passed their doping tests that should be enough evidence. Also getting a miss for the tester not being willing to wait is crazy. I really hope Yul appeals because 16 months is too long.” Totally get where they’re coming from—it does seem wild when you break it down like that. But here’s the twist! According to one fan, and a comment the gymnast supposedly left on TikTok, the suspension has been reduced to 12 months. So, while there’s a little glimmer of hope, fans are still pretty upset. But what do you think about Yul Moldauer’s suspension? Drop your thoughts in the comments.