GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

We're back from Rotterdam with our biggest takeaways from the 2026 World Championships: why imposing AI judging a month before Worlds was unfair, how the Netherlands put on an exceptional Worlds, the broken podium and why equipment should be checked every rotation, sabotage chalk, why the U.S. women need a beam exchange in China, deadlines for non-traveling alternates, and how to fix slow event finals. Plus Morinari Watanabe tells The Athletic his dream is "no judges, only computers," Ana Bărbosu loses her whereabouts appeal, Meta keeps hosting AI-generated abuse videos of young gymnasts (report them), and the Swiss Cup shows off mixed pairs. Also: the Jordan Chiles documentary Fair Play, Federico Molinari convicted of grooming, the death of legendary coach Leonid Arkayev, and your questions on coaches' travel, starting TeamGym and whether different lineups would have mattered in Rotterdam. Want ad-free episodes and a weekly members-only show, Behind the Scenes, live every Friday? Join Club Gym Nerd. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with special guest Katelyn Ohashi. In person at HERE in SoHo, or stream it live from anywhere. Missed anything from Rotterdam? All 10 of our Worlds shows are at the 2026 World Championship Headquarters. Chapters 00:00 Back from Rotterdam + NYC live show with Katelyn Ohashi 01:39 Youth Olympic Games: China wins the mixed team 03:06 Meta hosting AI-generated abuse videos of gymnasts 06:38 Swiss Cup mixed pairs: France beats Germany 11:41 Ana Bărbosu loses her CAS whereabouts appeal 14:55 Watanabe: "Our dream is to have no judges" 17:59 NYC live show and Club Gym Nerd 20:57 Takeaways from Rotterdam: narratives are fleeting 24:16 AI judging a month before Worlds was unfair 24:52 An exceptional Worlds, and checking the podium every rotation 28:04 NCAA makes world champions 29:15 Watch out for sabotage chalk 30:33 A beam exchange in China, and alternates need deadlines 31:55 Fixing slow event finals 36:17 Gymternet news: breast injuries and sports bras 38:11 Federico Molinari convicted; Leonid Arkayev dies at 86 39:38 Jordan Chiles documentary Fair Play 44:24 Para gymnastics rules, Amanda Stroud, Noblesville, American Cup and Champs sites 48:54 Listener Q: who pays for coaches' travel? 51:33 Listener Q: how to start coaching TeamGym 53:34 Listener Q: would lineup changes have mattered? 57:21 Should the U.S. require beam backups? 1:06:55 Live show reminder and see you Friday Links Futurism: Meta and AI-generated videos of coaches and young athletes NBC Sports: Ana Bărbosu's suspension upheld She Leaps: breast injuries in gymnastics and why the right sports bra matters International Gymnast: Leonid Arkayev dies at 86 The Hollywood Reporter: Jordan Chiles documentary Fair Play USA Gymnastics: Amanda Stroud named Women's Program Director Send us your questions: [email protected]

Coop dislocated his knee outside the Rotterdam arena at 1:30 a.m., and Jessica is finally telling the whole story. First, the news with Kensley Behel of Neutral Deductions: CAS upholds Ana Bărbosu's (ROU) two-year whereabouts suspension, Morinari Watanabe tells The Athletic the goal is no human judges, the Fujitsu vault downgrades, the leaked Donatella Sacchi letter about Reese Esponda (USA), and Jordan Chiles' (USA) new documentary. This is the free 30-minute preview. The full 114-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 84 more minutes, nearly three-quarters of the show, including the whole dislocation and Dutch hospital story, a listener's collapsed lung on a flight home, Worlds and Olympic athletes heading into NCAA, and whether judges ever overrode Fujitsu on vault. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in New York City with Katelyn Ohashi: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT, at HERE in SoHo. Interactive streaming tickets are on sale now; in-person tickets are coming soon. Missed Rotterdam? The replay of GymCastic Live with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir is only available for a limited time. Sponsored by Sand & Sea Luxury Travel Advisors: plan your next gymnastics trip with Sand & Sea, promo code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 – Welcome: Coop's Surgery & Breaking News 02:33 – Ana Bărbosu's Whereabouts Suspension 06:55 – Camelia & Sabrina Voinea and the FIG Post 08:38 – Watanabe: No Judges, Fujitsu & Vault Downgrades 14:06 – Jordan Chiles' Documentary 15:00 – The Donatella Sacchi Letter & Reese Esponda 20:58 – Rotterdam Replay & NYC Live Show with Katelyn Ohashi 27:05 – Coop's Dislocation: The Story Begins 29:36 – Hear the Rest with Club Gym Nerd Limited Time Offer – Make healthy eating simple. Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code GYMCASTIC at huel.com/GYMCASTIC. New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show!

Our full Women's All-Around Final show from the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam, now free for everyone. Skye Blakely is the world all-around champion with 55.733, the first American woman to win the title since Simone Biles. Liudmila Roshchina took silver and Ke Qinqin won bronze despite a beam fall. Favorite Kaylia Nemour overran the vault board, landed on the collar and finished fourth, and Claire Pease was one beam fall away from a medal. Plus why press row got emotional, Elena Colas and artistry, Valeri Liukin's beam ritual, a listener letter on Nemour's beam score, and the kids' press conference. Hear every episode ad-free, plus live Q&As and the full members-only archive. Join Club Gym Nerd. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: the replay of our live show at Worlds with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. Replay tickets are on sale for a limited time. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Thanks to Huel: 15% off online with code GYMCASTIC, new customers only. huel.com/GYMCASTIC Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Luxury Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Results 1. Skye Blakely (USA) 55.733 · 2. Liudmila Roshchina (WG2) 55.199 · 3. Ke Qinqin (CHN) 55.032 · 4. Kaylia Nemour (ALG) 54.998 · 5. Aiko Sugihara (JPN) 54.765 · 6. Elena Colas (FRA) 54.666 · 7. Claire Pease (USA) 54.232 · 8. Alba Petisco (ESP) 54.198 Chapters 00:00 Intro: the Women's All-Around Final, now free for everyone 01:07 GymCastic Live Rotterdam: the replay trailer 03:04 Welcome to the all-around final 03:50 Skye Blakely crowned world all-around champion 06:24 Winning on her own plan 09:13 Kaylia Nemour's vault problem 13:26 Ke Qinqin's beam and a medal despite a fall 14:37 Liudmila Roshchina's silver 16:06 Claire Pease's beam fall 18:19 Blakely, Florida and the college-elite path 21:41 Blakely's four events 23:27 World feed issues 24:38 A word from Huel 26:57 Glotova's double beam fall 28:06 Lisa Vaelen's straddle full 29:15 Ellie Black's beam after a fall 30:09 Correction: Gina Pongetti and MedGym 31:14 Club Gym Nerd and live shows 33:24 Why press row got emotional over Blakely 35:56 Roshchina on beam 37:16 Elena Colas and artistry 39:08 Double fulls in the lead group 41:41 Aiko Sugihara 42:33 Alba Petisco's score 44:04 Flavia Saraiva 45:20 Pease and Valeri Liukin's beam ritual 46:22 Perotti, Tonelli and Kinsella 48:26 Prat, Kishi and Scott 49:23 Listener letter: Nemour's beam score 51:23 Does a pause count as a connection? 53:14 What Japanese gymnasts yell 53:36 Live show tips 55:27 Fujitsu and Blakely's beam score 58:03 A floor fix 1:00:21 The arena and the kids' press conference 1:01:21 Sign-off Links 2026 Worlds Headquarters Elite Score Explorer LA 2028 Roster Lab MedGym with Gina Pongetti Shop GymCastic

Kaylia Nemour won both bars and beam at the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam, taking beam gold over Zhang Qingying of China on an execution tiebreak, while Flavia Saraiva finally won her first world beam medal. Claire Pease and Reese Esponda went one-two on floor, Maiana Prat took bronze on another tiebreak, and the U.S. women leave Rotterdam with seven medals. Artur Davtyan stuck both vaults for gold, Sebastian Sponevik won Norway's first world medal ever, Frederick Richard won the floor title he promised, and Tang Chia-hung took high bar. Plus the credit crisis of these Worlds, from Carlos Yulo to Ellie Black, and the coach who said out loud what others wouldn't. Our final live show from inside Rotterdam Ahoy. This is the free 25-minute preview. The full 67-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 42 more minutes, nearly two-thirds of the show, including Epke Zonderland and Fabian Hambüchen's high bar stick-it contest, the Nemour versus Zhang beam debate, Flavia's champagne, Maiana Prat's stinky floor medal and Frederick Richard calling his shot. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: the replay of Saturday's show with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. Replay tickets are still on sale. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to event finals, day two 01:13 Rhys McClenaghan answers a critic 01:59 Surprise: Simone Biles in Rotterdam 02:58 Kaylia Nemour wins bars and beam 05:04 Should FIG stop breaking ties? 07:06 The tiebreaks that decided beam gold and floor bronze 08:36 Seven medals for the U.S. women 11:07 Why is nobody getting credit? Carlos Yulo and Ellie Black 12:39 Reese Esponda's coach on FIG's last-minute changes 16:25 Artur Davtyan's two stuck vaults 19:31 Opportunity for comedy: Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir live 21:28 Your comedy moments 22:25 Club Gym Nerd and GymCastic Live 24:24 Club preview: what Jake Jarman's dad said to Bart and Eythora 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast. Episode page and show notes

Skye Blakely is the world all-around champion. The 21-year-old Florida Gator won gold at the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam with 55.733, becoming the ninth American woman to win the world all-around title and the first since Simone Biles, and she did it on her own plan, without the Cheng. Liudmila Roshchina took a surprise silver and Ke Qinqin of China won bronze despite a fall on beam. Favorite Kaylia Nemour overran the springboard on her opening vault, landing on the safety collar, and fought back to finish fourth, while Claire Pease was one beam fall away from a medal. Our sleep-deprived reactions from inside Rotterdam Ahoy. This is the free 27-minute preview. The full 57-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 30 more minutes, more than half of the show, including the international world peace officer, why press row cried for Skye Blakely, Claire Pease and Valeri Liukin's mirrored beam ritual, and your letters on Fujitsu and Skye's beam D score. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: Saturday, October 24, 7:00 pm CEST (10:00 am PT), with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. In-person is sold out; stream it live from anywhere. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Thank you to Gina Pongetti of MedGym for caring for Fact Checker. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the women's all-around final 00:46 Skye Blakely is world all-around champion 03:20 Winning Worlds on her own plan 06:09 Kaylia Nemour's vault disaster 10:22 Ke Qinqin's beam is so good she can fall and still medal 11:33 Liudmila Roshchina's surprise silver 13:02 Claire Pease's beam fall 15:15 Skye, Florida and the college-elite path 18:37 Skye's four events 20:23 The world feed problem 21:33 Opportunity for comedy: Alena Glotova falls off beam twice 22:43 Best moment: Lisa Vaelen's straddle full 23:52 Ellie Black performs the beam rage away 24:46 A correction: Gina Pongetti and MedGym 25:51 Club Gym Nerd and GymCastic Live 27:11 Club preview: the international world peace officer 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast. Episode page and show notes

Daiki Hashimoto won his fourth straight world all-around title at the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam, by almost two points, with Yang Haonan of China in silver and Joe Fraser taking bronze, only Great Britain's third men's all-around medal at Worlds. Top qualifier and Olympic champion Shinnosuke Oka fell twice and still finished eighth, Arsenii Dukhno's medal run ended on high bar, and Illia Kovtun fell twice. Plus breaking news: former Stanford gymnast Kaien J-Spencer is suing Stanford, alleging his former head coach Thom Glielmi degraded and humiliated him, and the women's code that got updated in the middle of Worlds. Our sleep-deprived reactions from inside Rotterdam Ahoy. This is the free 23-minute preview. The full 57-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 34 more minutes, more than half of the show, including Jessica's Uber conspiracy theories, Jake Jarman's interview, our women's all-around preview with Kaylia Nemour, Skye Blakely and Claire Pease, and your letters on China's beam and whether a fall should cost more than a point. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: Saturday, October 24, 7:00 pm CEST (10:00 am PT), with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. In-person is sold out; stream it live from anywhere. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the men's all-around final 01:14 Daiki Hashimoto wins a fourth straight world all-around title 02:09 Ex-Stanford gymnast sues over his former coach 04:25 The women's code gets updated during Worlds 06:14 Shinnosuke Oka's two falls 08:06 Illia Kovtun and four all-arounds in a row 09:02 Joe Fraser's Red Bull 09:42 Arsenii Dukhno's high bar fall 10:33 Noe Seifert's podium warm-up 11:23 Frederick Richard's not-so-secret girlfriend 12:13 Yang Haonan's silver 13:28 Joe Fraser's bronze and the baby celebration 17:30 Opportunity for comedy: frog on the windshield 18:27 Best moment: Camilo Vera goes for the Liukin twice 20:29 Join Club Gym Nerd and GymCastic Live 22:31 Club preview: the Uber driver's conspiracy theory 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast. Episode page and show notes

China are world team champions for the first time since 2006, ending the United States' run of seven straight titles by two tenths in the women's team final at the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam. Japan won its first world team medal since 1966. We break down the beam rotation that decided it, the downgrade that cost Skye Blakely, Dulcy Caylor's beam and big floor, Claire Pease's Cheng and 56-point all-around, and why the Fujitsu D-scores belong on the live scoreboard. Plus France in fourth, a rough night for WG2 and Italy, the broken floor that was really the podium, and lunch with Jay Clark. Recorded live from inside Rotterdam Ahoy. Want more? Club Gym Nerd members get this episode ad-free, plus daily Worlds shows with extra time, weekly live Behind The Scenes and the full archive. Join Club Gym Nerd. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: Saturday, October 24, 7:00 pm CEST / 10:00 am PT, with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. In-person is sold out; stream it live from anywhere. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET, with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets on sale. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Limited time offer: make healthy eating simple. Get Huel with 15% off online with code GYMCASTIC at huel.com/GYMCASTIC. New customers only. Thank you to Huel for supporting our show. Chapters 00:00 China are world champions; U.S. silver, Japan bronze 01:41 How China broke the U.S. streak 04:22 Skye Blakely's beam and the D-score surprise 07:43 Chasing China on beam 10:31 Japan's first team medal since 1966 14:15 Show us the Fujitsu D-scores 17:42 The broken floor was the podium 19:36 Ellie Black's vault warm-up near miss 21:17 Moment of the day: Morgane Osyssek's floor 23:23 Club Gym Nerd and GymCastic Live 25:28 China's gold, rotation by rotation 31:07 Huel 33:27 Team USA's silver: vault, Claire Pease's Cheng, the bunnies 37:37 U.S. floor and the all-around outlook 40:36 WG2, Italy and the double-pike curse 44:30 France in fourth 47:16 Lunch with Jay Clark and the FIG judging system 50:20 Canada and Brazil 54:42 Japan's Fujitsu award and the podium 57:41 Live Q&A: Fact Checker update, all-around picks, France, the U.S. men 1:10:16 Wrap Show notes and links · 2026 World Championship Headquarters

The floor broke again. A Dutch gymnast flagged the corner of the floor during the men's team final at the 2026 World Championships, nine years after Bart Deurloo did the same in Montreal. Japan won the world team title despite late falls, the Russian team competing as WG2 took silver and China held on for bronze, while Great Britain's medal hopes came apart one error at a time. Plus when the FIG will update its equipment standards, a final that ran past 10:30 at night, and robot judges catching every out-of-bounds. Our sleep-deprived reactions from inside Rotterdam Ahoy. This is the free 18-minute preview. The full 42-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 24 more minutes, more than half of the show, including Fact Checker's note from the KLM crew, Japan in depth, Team USA's women's team final lineup, the U.S. men in sixth and our women's team final preview. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: Saturday, October 24, 7:00 pm CEST (10:00 am PT), with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. In-person is sold out; stream it live from anywhere. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the men's team final 01:00 Japan wins the world team title 02:01 The floor breaks again 04:09 When will the FIG update its equipment standards? 06:16 Russia, not Russia, and the missing headshots 07:17 Great Britain's heartbreak 09:57 China holds on for bronze 11:16 Too late at night to compete 12:32 Robot judges and the out-of-bounds epidemic 13:31 GymCastic Live in Rotterdam with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir 14:11 Switzerland and the last-rotation falls 15:55 Join Club Gym Nerd for the rest 17:25 Club preview: the arena's location tag 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast. Episode page and show notes

When beams attack. Great Britain counted a full beam meltdown and missed the team final by less than two-tenths, Flávia Saraiva's vault got Brazil in, and Kaylia Nemour leads the all-around even with mistakes. China survived a rare bars disaster to qualify first, the Russian team competing as WG2 is third with its B team, and Skye Blakely held on to a bars final spot. Our sleep-deprived reactions from inside Rotterdam Ahoy after day two of women's qualification at the 2026 World Championships. This is the free 25-minute preview. The full 51-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 26 more minutes, more than half of the show, including the hair dryer story, a Fact Checker update, and every subdivision in depth: France, Sanne Wevers' last routine, Canada's floor secret and Brazil. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live GymCastic Live in Rotterdam: Saturday, October 24, 7:00 pm CEST (10:00 am PT), with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. In-person is sold out; stream it live from anywhere. GymCastic Live in New York City: Friday, December 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT), with Katelyn Ohashi. In-person and streaming tickets. Rotterdam World Championships coverage is brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Rotterdam, day two 01:23 Breaking news from the Spanish federation 02:55 Kaylia Nemour leads the all-around 08:45 China qualifies first 12:06 Flávia Saraiva saves Brazil 14:18 Russia, not Russia, in third 15:34 Great Britain's beam meltdown 16:47 Becky Downie delivers 18:36 Biggest surprise: Skye Blakely makes the bars final 19:48 Opportunities for comedy 21:08 Best moments: Hillary Heron and the Thriller 23:18 Join Club Gym Nerd for the rest 24:45 Club preview: the hair dryer story 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast. Episode page and show notes

Hezly Rivera is out, Dulcy Caylor is in, and Skye Blakely had the day of her life. Our sleep-deprived reactions from inside Rotterdam Ahoy after day one of women's qualification at the 2026 World Championships: Team USA leads with no falls, Italy is one floor hit from something special, Japan counted three misses, and Mexico beat Belgium and Romania. Plus robot judging downgrades Carlos Yulo's vault, Manila Esposito's perfect-execution beam and Sabrina Voinea's raven. This is the free 26-minute preview. The full 74-minute show is for Club Gym Nerd members. That's 48 more minutes, nearly two-thirds of the show, including Team USA event by event, the men's qualification recap, the Gymnasts for Change boat party and your letters. Join Club Gym Nerd to hear it all. Want to try it first? The Worlds Coverage Bundle is 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99, no auto-renewal. GymCastic Live in Rotterdam on October 24 with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir is sold out in person, but virtual tickets are still available. This episode is presented by Sand and Sea Luxury Travel Advisors. Plan your dream trip at go.sandandsea.travel/gcnotes and use code GYMCASTICWORLDS. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Rotterdam 01:17 Breaking news: Hezly Rivera withdraws, Dulcy Caylor in 03:07 Jade Carey and the "stay-at-home alternate" 05:34 Hezly's blanket 07:44 Robot judging: Carlos Yulo's vault downgrade and Frederick Richard's floor deduction 11:12 Team USA leads after day one 13:44 Skye Blakely leads the all-around 15:10 Claire Pease and the Cheng 16:36 Mexico beats Belgium and Romania 19:22 Opportunities for comedy: Sabrina Voinea's raven 21:30 Scott Bregman's Gymnastipedia 22:38 Manila Esposito's beam and Marta Pihan-Kulesza 24:28 Join Club Gym Nerd for the rest 25:32 Club preview: Cécile Landi's story Links Episode page 2026 World Championships Headquarters Worlds Coverage Bundle: 3 months of Club Gym Nerd for $14.99 Rotterdam Worlds Roster Tracker