Calling the second edition of the Gold Over America Tour a raging success wouldn’t be an overstatement. Following Team USA’s stellar run at the 2024 Olympic Games, the pop-styled gymnastics show led by Simone Biles brought exposure to the sport like never before. However, it wasn’t just the love for gymnastics that kept Paul Juda dishing out mesmerizing performances over the past couple of months.

The Michigan Wolverines star was part of the American squad that bagged a spot on the podium in Paris after 16 long years. Naturally, the fans were eager to see how he cashed in on the success of giving men’s gymnastics a bigger platform with the G.O.A.T. show. Luckily, Juda had a special person to supply him with the motivation to do so, and now he has a special message for that person.

In his X post from November 5, Paul Juda had something to tell his girlfriend Reyna Guggino. Sharing a post by Ashlee Buhler, the 23-year-old star wrote, “32 shows straight where I got to show my love for my amazing partner!” as he once again proclaimed his love for her. In the accompanying video clip, Juda highlights how the Gold Over America Tour athletes have been blessed with fervent support from their near and close ones for the shows.

“It’s easy to look at us athletes and think we accomplished all of this all by ourselves. But in reality, there are so many people supporting every one of us. For me this year, that was my girlfriend, Reyna,” Juda can be heard saying in Buhler’s original post. He went on to reveal how he was struggling to find the motivation to keep pushing ahead of the Olympic Trials and how Guggion helped him to find his passion for gymnastics once again.

“She sat me down, she sat me straight, and she said, ‘Not too many people have too many opportunities in their lives to go after their dreams. I’m not gonna have you go to the trials and have any regrets for the rest of your life,’ ” said Paul, elaborating on how his bae explained to him why it was necessary to go all in for the big rumble in the City of Love. Thankfully, the 3x NCAA champ paid heed to his girlfriend’s words and reaped its benefits at the 33rd Olympics. However, Guggino wasn’t the only one who wanted to see Juda and men’s gymnastics in the USA reach new heights.

Paul Juda & Co.’s Olympic triumph hailed by Simone Biles and others

Returning after a gap of three years, the Gold Over America Tour created incredible hype among gymnastics fans in the USA. While watching Simone Biles in action was obviously the biggest selling point of the show, the fact that the country’s elite male gymnasts would also be part of the road trip added to the hype. In October, the GOAT told NBC Washington how roping in her male colleagues was a plan that was prompted by the desire to bring more attention toward the male stars of the sport. “Bringing the guys on board was designed to show what men’s gymnastics has to offer,” Biles said as she noted how hearing the fans chant the male stars’ names was a special feeling.

But considering how Juda has been the flagbearer of men’s gymnastics within the collegiate circuit for so long, one would have known his destiny would eventually take him to grander stages. Jozef Juda, Paul’s father, still remembers how the Olympic medalist convinced him that his passion for the sport would bring hefty exploits. “Daddy, you won’t have to pay a penny,” Paul Juda told his dad, and while the latter initially didn’t have much faith, he later realized the 5x Big Ten medalist wasn’t kidding around. One for the story books, wouldn’t you agree?