Yul Moldauer returns to gymnastics nationals after 16-month suspension
· Yahoo Sports
There is one man in the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships field who previously won a national all-around title. He wasn't doing any gymnastics a year ago.
Yul Moldauer, the 2017 U.S. champion and a Tokyo Olympian, returns to nationals this week in Phoenix after serving a suspension from September 2024 to November 2025.
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Moldauer was banned for missing three drug tests in a 12-month span. Though he has never failed a test, he took full responsibility for not adhering to rules that require Olympic-level athletes to be present at their specified daily locations for no-notice testing.
2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships: How to watch, schedule, field, previewThe nation’s top gymnasts compete in Phoenix, live on NBC Sports and Peacock.Moldauer was barred from training at any USA Gymnastics member gym during those 16 months. He said he was depressed and felt like he was a criminal.
"It bothers him that there's some negative connotation that goes with that," his coach, Mark Williams, said of the missed tests. "That hurt a lot, and when I talked to him through that time, he just said, 'I don't feel like I'm done. I don't want to go out that way. I want to see if I can resurrect my career and figure this out.' He seems like there’s joy in gymnastics again.”
During the ban, Moldauer chose to separate from the sport rather than train on gymnastics equipment on his own (like he did during the COVID-19 pandemic with a pommel horse in his garage).
He worked at a warehouse for Ball Corporation, the mason jar company, from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. He spent afternoons in a public fitness gym. He swam. He ran at least a mile every day, getting his time below 5 minutes and 30 seconds. He hosted his own DJ event.
Moldauer, who turns 30 on Aug. 26 and is the oldest gymnast competing this week, feels his healthiest in years. Dating back to 2019, he was limited at different times by elbow, back and shoulder injuries.
"I feel like I went into a youth bath," he said of the time away from gymnastics.
Moldauer announced in April that he was moving from his native Colorado back to Oklahoma, where he was an NCAA team and all-around champion from 2016-19 for Williams' Sooners.
"Having an Olympian around and training with my team is a huge boost, and Yul’s had a tremendous legacy here at Oklahoma," Williams said. "I love the guy, and we want to do whatever we can to help make him be successful and complete gymnastics on his own terms."
If Moldauer has his way come 2028, he will become the oldest U.S. Olympic gymnast since 1956. And he might not be done then. He has a bet with 2024 Olympian Asher Hong, who is seven years younger, over who will retire first.
"I'm going to go till I break, or if I'm just not competitive enough," Moldauer said.
Moldauer last made a U.S. all-around podium in 2021, but the opportunity is there this week given the absences of three-time U.S. champ Brody Malone (on a break), the two-time champ Hong and two-time Olympic alternate Donnell Whittenburg (injured).
Moldauer is one of three Olympians in the field expected to compete in the all-around on Thursday and Saturday, along with Frederick Richard and Shane Wiskus.
"If I just do my job, we'll see what happens," Moldauer said. "But I want to make sure that Shane and Fred know that it's not going to be easy."
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