Parallel Perspectives

All Eyes on the 2025 Men’s Winter Cup: What’s at Play?

Coming off of one of the most successful year’s for men’s gymnastics in our nation’s history in 2024, there is certainly anticipation and excitement heading into 2025 and the next quadrennium! Elite gymnasts’ faces of old and new will be present at this year’s Winter Cup competition, held next weekend in Louisville. But, aside from the mere excitement of there being an elite gymnastics competition, why should I care?

What’s on the Line?

In a non-Olympic year, why do elite gymnastics meets even matter? There’s still 3.5 years before LA 2028, this meet can’t matter that much, right? Wrong. Each of these athletes are vying for their spot on the national team, placements into international competitions, and certainly berths into the US Championships held later this summer. Taking a look at last year’s results, the top three all-around finishers were Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus, and Riley Loos. Wiskus recently underwent successful shoulder surgery at the beginning of a competitive off-year, and Moldauer is still serving his suspension from the USADA for his whereabouts violation. With these two likely missing an entire season, who will take over? 

New Routines and Habits

With new rules in place and a number of competitions under our (the viewers) belt, we have already seen some tendencies by NCAA teams to construct athletes' routines in specific ways. Coaches spend hours at a time to best strategize their order of routine and how it could be improved. Over time, we tend to see similar skills or sequences in routines based on what the ‘smartest’ choice is. For example, a large % of floor dismounts at last year’s Winter Cup was a triple full twist. Or, another example would be the number of athletes who competed layout + straddle Tkachev connections on high bar. With every four years, the gymnastics ‘meta’ is at least slightly altered, on a local, NCAA, and even global level. Certain skills become more or less valuable, connection sequences may or may not be worth doing any longer, and stuck landings may be prioritized even more nowadays. Along with these rule changes, many of these Winter Cup athletes have been training upgraded difficulty, and new skills they have excitement for performing as it is. As a whole, general off-season training along with changes in rules make for an exciting outlook on this year’s Winter Cup.

The Fight For Gold

As all six events (plus the All-Around) will crown a champion, let’s take a closer look at these specific battles. Assumptions have to be made when discussing the All-Around competition, as very few athletes have competed in the All-Around under these new rules. For example, if Fred Richard competes all six events, he is most likely your 2025 Winter Cup Champion. But, he has yet to compete in an All-Around competition since Paris. 

When looking at specific events, there are a number of stellar routines expected at this competition on each apparatus. A favorite to win floor could be the aforementioned Richard, but Kameron Nelson (and his triple pike somersault) could put a stop to that. Brandon Dang could show up and score in the mid-14s on pommel horse, just to be outdone by Patrick Hoopes anyways. Alex Diab, one of the strongest American men ever on rings, could nail a routine and still be beaten by Javier Alfonso. Taylor Burkhardt could soar and fly into a perfectly stuck vault before heading down the runway just to watch Riley Loos repeat the same task. Oh yeah, and what’s up with this new kid Danila Leykin? Leykin is a highly-scouted recruit taking his first steps at the senior elite level of competition. The bottom line is, there will be incredible routines with intense finishes at the Men’s 2025 Winter Cup. 

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Written by Aiden Whitehead

Principal Staff Writer for TURN

About Aiden

Hello gymnastics fans! I’m Aiden and I’m super excited to join the team at TURN as the 'Principal Staff Writer'. I began competing gymnastics at the age of six and immediately fell in love with the sport. I am currently in the midst of my senior season as a competitor, serving my third year as a team captain for the Georgia United GymACT team. Last December, I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, with Sports Media Certification as well. I've already acquired a few years of media experience, working a variety of roles with GymACT, Virtius, and Neutral Deductions. In addition to competing, I am an active women’s team coach at Oconee Gymnastics Center, as well as the Technical Director of the Georgia Men’s Gymnastics Judging Association. Evidently — even though I am competing, coaching, and judging — I can never get enough of this sport, so I’m excited to take this new role as well!