Gymnastics News: 2020 Year in Review

January 2020

2020 got off to an exciting start with the first U.S. Women’s National Team training camp of the year, with fields being announced for top Olympic-qualifying events like the American Cup and Stuttgart World Cup. Out of the four All-Around World Cups, the American Cup would end up being the only one to take place.

February 2020

February saw NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, with Florida’s sophomore sensation Trinity Thomas on fire. Brooklyn Moors (CAN) officially signed with UCLA Gymnastics, and Riley McCusker (USA) joined National Team teammate Jade Carey at Arizona Sunrays after coach Maggie Haney was suspended. Olympic and World vault champion Ri Se Gwang announced his retirement while Simone Biles broke the gymternet with her Yurchenko double pike vault. The 2020 Winter Cup and 2020 Melbourne World Cup took place, with Team USA’s Jade Carey and Stephen Nedoroscik going gold at the latter. While the coronavirus continued to quietly pick up speed, many scoffed at rumors of the Olympics potentially being postponed. The U.S. men’s team was the center of some World Cup assignment drama after Winter Cup, and across the pond, Russia became one of the first countries to back out of a meet over coronavirus concerns. Biles hit the bullseye axe throwing, and UCLA’s Nia Dennis went viral with her Beyonce floor routine.

March 2020

Aly Raisman started the month out by accusing USA Gymnastics of a “cover-up” on the Today Show. John Orozco switched from Team USA to Team Puerto Rico as he formally launched his comeback, and Long Island University announced it would be adding an NCAA women’s gymnastics team. Morgan Hurd and Kayla DiCello went 1-2 for the women at American Cup, and on the men’s side, Sam Mikulak topped Oleg Verniaiev for gold. The U.S. women swept the team titles and collected 21 medals in total at the 2020 Gymnix International, and not long after, everything came to a grinding halt. The 2020 NCAA gymnastics season was cancelled (and we thanked the seniors). 2008 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Sam Peszek teamed up with both Olympians and NCAA stars to launch Gym School while everyone hunkered down at home, and then the metaphorical ball dropped: the Tokyo Olympics were officially postponed. Unsurprisingly, USAG followed suit by postponing the U.S. Championships and more. All due to COVID-19.

April 2020

Things got eerily quiet in April, as much of the world spent the majority of their time at home, surrounding themselves with just the people they lived with, and only leaving the house for grocery store runs, exercise, and the occasional take-out. The gymternet banded together and kept busy during this time. With athletes like Bulgaria’s Laney Madsen hosting a regular Instagram live with top athletes from around the world and others, like USA’s Alex Naddour, volunteering their time to talk with club teams over Zoom. Biles finally spoke out about the Olympics being postponed, saying it was “ultimately the right decision,” and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief with the confirmation she wasn’t retiring just yet. 2008 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Chellsie Memmel hinted at a comeback (which she would later make official), and the FIG Executive Committee ruled that 2021 first-year seniors would be eligible for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. Kyla Ross won the 2020 Honda Sport Award, Maggie Nichols won the 2020 AAI Award, and Stephen Nedoroscik was named the 2020 Nissen Emery Award winner (we talked with him about training in isolation here). These 9 young gymnasts gave us hope as they trained in isolation, and while most NCAA activity halted, Randy Lane was named the head coach of the new Long Island University women’s team. Maggie Haney was suspended for 8 years by USAG (with that sentence recently being reduced), and Laurie Hernandez spoke out after her former coach’s suspension.

May 2020

USA Gymnastics announced that it would not host any of its marquee events in 2020, due to the ongoing pandemic, but things started to pick up on the training front as Biles returned to the gym after seven weeks off. Laurie Hernandez interviewed USAG CEO Li Li Leung for “Stronger Than You Think” to discuss the organizations changing culture, and Kim Zmeskal and Liang Chow headlined the new National Gymnastics Curriculum.

June 2020

The FIG released its revised Olympic qualification system for the Tokyo Games. Multiple NCAA gymnastics teams were accused of racism by former athletes as protests against police brutality and other racial issues raged across the country, which USAG penned a letter about. A petition also urged HBCUs to fund gymnastics programs. Kurt Thomas, the first U.S. man to win a World gymnastics title, died at 64. ‘Athlete A’ was released on Netflix to rave reviews, and the gymternet responded by forming the #gymnastalliance. Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy as a result of the pandemic. Biles worked an insane triple-double off beam, just ’cause.

July 2020

The gymternet celebrated a socially-distanced Fourth of July while many athletes around the world were able to return to training. Denmark withdrew from hosting the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, but the FIG insisted it would find a new host. Once again, we celebrated the one year countdown mark from the postponed Tokyo games, and abuse allegations went international as the impact of ‘Athlete A’ continued to be felt around the world.

August 2020

LSU’s legendary head coach D-D Breaux retired, Mikulak announced he would retire after Tokyo, and Memmel made her comeback official. USAG announced its 2020 Hall of Fame class, which included Bridget Sloan, Jordyn Wieber, and Morgan Hamm. Texas Dreams was the latest gym to be hit with abuse allegations, while Le Rêve closed permanently due to the pandemic, impacting gymnasts like former UCLA standout Angi Cipra. Carly Patterson announced she’s expecting baby No. 3, and former Tiger great Ashleigh Gnat returned to LSU as an assistant coach under Jay Clark. Things took a turn for the worse on the NCAA front as universities began trying to deal with monetary losses due to the pandemic, with the University of Alaska, Anchorage women’s team and the University of Iowa men’s team both on the chopping block after the upcoming season.

September 2020

The 2021 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships were officially cancelled, and Jordyn Wieber said she won’t attend the USAG Hall of Fame induction next season, as she doesn’t feel like the organization has properly accepted responsibility in its handling of the Nassar abuse allegations. William & Mary’s men’s and women’s teams were the next to be cut by their school’s athletic department, with the University of Minnesota men’s team following soon after. In positive news, the University of Alaska, Anchorage told its women’s team it would need to raise $888,000 by mid-February of 2021 to save the program (those fundraising efforts are ongoing). The FIG Executive Committee announced the 2021 World Cup schedule, and it also published medical guidelines for events held during the COVID-19 pandemic. Glamour released a docuseries titled, “Defying Gravity” on YouTube, and these 5 U.S. gymnasts showed off some new skills they’ve been cooking up in training.

October 2020

It was announced the rescheduled 2020 European Championships would take place in December in Mersin, Turkey, instead of Azerbaijan. The first FIG meet since the spring took place, and it was announced the U.S. would join Russia, Japan, and China in competing in a November friendly meet in Tokyo. The NCAA announced DI winter sport athletes, including men’s and women’s gymnasts, would receive an additional year of eligibility no matter if their team competed or not this upcoming season. Biles and Jonathan Van Ness teamed up to twin and tumble in the latest Uber Eats ad, and it made the year a little more bearable.

November 2020

One NFL player caught Biles’ attention with his TD celebration acrobatics. Larisa Iordache and Kohei Uchimura both tested positive for the coronavirus, with the latter’s later being determined as a false positive. William & Mary ultimately reinstated both its men’s and women’s gymnastics teams after a two-month saga. Uchimura lead Team Solidarity to a narrow victory over Team Friendship at the FIG Friendship and Solidarity friendly meet, and everyone was excited to see many of the sport’s fan-favorites back at it again. The FIG announced Kitakyushu, Japan, is the new host for the 2021 Artistic and Rhythmic World Championships. National Signing Day saw big names on both the men’s and women’s sides sign to compete in the NCAA, McCusker filed a lawsuit against Haney, and Aly Raisman hung out with Chris Evans a.k.a. Captain America.

December 2020

Shane Wiskus appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss the impact of college athletic department cuts on gymnasts and athletes. USAG introduced an Athlete Bill of Rights and protest policy, and it also revealed the 2021 Winter Cup would include a women’s division, the Nastia Liukin Cup, and Elite Team Cup, as the future status of American Cup remains unclear. Ukraine swept the team titles at Euros, with Iordache making a triumphant return to international competition. Haney’s suspension was reduced to five years instead of eight, while Nassar was denied an appeal. Biles revealed she’s bad at pilates, and Carey blessed our timelines with a stunning Christmas Amanar. The collective gymternet took a much-needed, very big breath, and while this year was full of more challenges than we could’ve ever fathomed, we’re certainly glad to be part of such an incredible community and sport. See you in 2021!

Gymnastics Now’s (@gymnastics__now) 2020 Top 9 on Instagram