After pulling out of last summer’s Pan American Games because his body wasn’t cooperating with him, Shane Wiskus could be forgiven for going into this weekend’s U.S. Olympic Trials with a bit of an underdog complex.
But in the first of two days of competition at Target Center, the former Gophers All-America from Spring Park, is right in the thick of it, finishing third in the all-around competition after Friday’s first run through the six apparatuses.
Not bad for a guy who, not long ago, contemplated retirement. His generally excellent six routines amassed him 84.300 total points in front of a partisan crowd not afraid to cheer for the only Minnesotan among the 20 men’s participants.
“I was having fun out there, so that produces the best results for me,” Wiskus said. “The second I stepped out on that field and heard the Minnesota love and the fans screaming for me, It was an incredible experience and a memory I’ll have forever.”
The U.S. women, with a field that boasts Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Suni Lee of St. Paul, begin their trials here on Friday. The Summer Games begin with Opening Ceremonies July 26 in Paris.
Wiskus, 25, is one of three 2020 Olympians in Minneapolis this weekend trying to earn a ticket back. Brody Malone, who finished 10th in the Tokyo Games, was in second place on Friday with 85.100 points, just behind University of Michigan sophomore Fred Richard, who burst into the lead with 14.700 points from the night’s best floor routine in the sixth rotation.
Returning Tokyo Olympian Yul Moldauer fell behind early because of an aborted horizontal bar routine but will go into Saturday sixth in the all-around. The winner will qualify automatically for the Games. The other four members of the team will be chosen by a USA Gymnastics committee tasked with choosing the team with the best potential to win a medal in Paris.
Wiskus, who had the third-best floor and rings scores on Friday — and was top five on three other apparatuses — appears to have given that committee something to think about.
“I hope so,” he said. “If my MO can be going out there and getting the ball rolling and being consistent and doing my job for Team USA, I’m going to keep working toward that on Saturday.”
Perhaps because he was performing on his home turf, Wiskus was one of the few gymnasts who didn’t seem to be affected by nerves as the trials got started. Even Malone, the 2024 World Championships gold medalist in the all-around and horizontal bar, had an issue on the pommel horse, earning his lowest score (13.450) of his night.
“For a lot of us, it’s the biggest competition of our lives,” said Malone, one of six Stanford gymnasts competing. “All the guys out there who haven’t made the Olympics before, this is their ticket to go. So, of course, the nerves are going to be going crazy.
“Even those of us that have been to the Olympics before, we want to go again. The nerves are still there, for sure.”
Wiskus didn’t seem bothered by the pressure, and in fact used it to his benefit. After a crisp turn on the horizontal bar — a 13.550, the fifth-best score of the night — Wiskus looked up at the crowd, beckoned them with his open hands and yelled, “Let’s go!” After his floor routine, a clearly please Wiskus put his hand to his ear, asking for noise from a crowd that was happy to supply it.
“I allowed myself to have some fun in what could potentially be the last meet of my career,” he said. “I want to have fun and I want to do the things I don’t normally do — that I wish I would do — and just really enjoy it. I’m having a blast.”
Richard also had the top score in the high bar (14.400), and Stephen Nedoroscik had the top score in the only event he competed in, earning a 14.450 in the pommel horse. Curran Phillips had the best score in any event, a 15.600 in the parallel bars, four-tenths of a point away from a perfect score.
Malone, who had the second best score in vault and high bar, said he expects the competition to pick up a notch for Saturday’s six rotations, after which the Olympic team will be announced.
“You settle into it a little more on Day 2,” he said. “Day 1, you just get the nerves out, just get some routines under your belt, and then Day 2 you’re a little more comfortable. It should be better all around from everyone on Day 2.”
