Gymnastics Winter Cup 2024: Shane Wiskus Outshines Reigning All Around Champ Yul Moldauer in Dramatic Start 

It’s officially the start of the build-up to the Paris Olympics, with Winter Cup 2024 kicking off at the Kentucky International Convention Center, and it’s also the start of a promising season for Yul Moldauer. The Tokyo Olympian marked his start on the parallel bars with a sensational campaign and finished at the top at the end of the third rotation.

The 27-year-old secured 15.00 points in the parallel routine during the first rotation. He then managed to secure 13.200 on the horizontal bar before improving to 14.400 in the floor routines. But a big challenge awaited him next.

Yul Moldauer outshined by Shane Wiskus

After a dismal performance on the rings, Yul slid into 2nd position behind Shane Wiskus at the end of the 5th round. He was superb in the last rotation but couldn’t overtake Wiskus who racked up 84.850 points to win the first day. Yul finished 2nd on 84.450 points after grabbing 14.350 points on the vault in the sixth rotation. The Olympic medalist only managed to win 14.150 points on the rings in the 5th rotation, and then couldn’t overtake the 3x NCAA Champion.

Wiskus ranked fifth after the conclusion of the third round on 41.650 points. The first position was with Yul on 42.600 points while Fuzzy Benas of Oklahoma took the 2nd position with 42.150 points. Wiskus overtook the first position with a sensational routine in the fourth rotation to earn 56.450 points. The 2020 Olympian maintained his dominance in the next rounds to make a strong case for the national team.

The 25-year-old represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but didn’t advance to the finals. He was placed 2nd at the 2020 Winter Cup, and this time, he is all favorite to win the prestigious event this time. The NCCA sensation led the table after the 5th and 6th rotations, as well as securing three scores above 14.4. On the other hand, Yul only managed to cross the line once on Horizontal bars. However, the 27-year-old will look to make amends on Sunday as men’s events line up once again.

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The 3rd position on the first day of the national team qualifications was secured by Cameroon Bock of Michigan University. He earned a total of 82.950 points, with the best score being 14.300 in parallel bars. Men’s events are next scheduled on Sunday and will conclude at 8 p.m.