When gymnastics worlds collide: Taylor Christopulos isn’t afraid to set big goals
Artistic gymnastics can be divided into two worlds: elite and college, but now, more than ever, gymnasts are choosing to do both simultaneously. In this series, Gymnastics Now talks with athletes who are straddling the line between worlds to highlight the nuances of representing college and country.
Nebraska senior Taylor Christopulos enjoyed a breakout season on both the NCAA and elite stages in 2023, and 2024 promises the potential of much more.
“For me, a big [goal] is just making it to the Olympic Trials,” Christopulos said. “I think that would be really awesome. [The] Olympics is really hard; there’s so much talent out there. But I feel a big goal of mine is to make it to the Olympic Trials and the push for that, especially because it’s right after my senior year. And it’s kind of like this big competition before… I know I’m approaching the end of my career, so that would be really awesome. It only happens once every four years. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Balancing NCAA and elite is nothing new for the reigning NCAA all-around silver medalist. Since the college season ended in April, Christopulos has represented the U.S. at both the Pan American Championships and World University Games, winning gold with the team at Pan Ams and finishing eighth on high bar at the WUG.
He was originally the traveling alternate for Pan Ams but ended up replacing Josh Karnes.
“I was a traveling alternate, so I would go but I wasn’t supposed to compete,” Christpulos said of the opportunity. “Since Josh dropped, I was able to compete and get some international experience there – my first [international] comp which was super exciting… When we got back from Colombia – it was in Medellín [Colombia] – and we got back, we had three days and [then] we went to France for a training camp with Team USA. So that was a lot of fun.”
It’s all about the mindset
With big goals heading into the 2024 season, Christopulos said that besides keeping your body physically ready it’s all about strategy and mindset, something he relied on when Huskers assistant coach John Robinson and him decided to go for both the Pan Ams and WUG teams.
“We had a strategy and we had our goals…” Christopulos said. “Before we went into [selection] camp, we had to decide what we wanted to do but also just that mental side, like what do we want to accomplish and what are we going for?
“We wanted to go for the University Games, and then we sat down, we’re like, ‘Hey, we have the opportunity to make the other team as well. So do you want to try and make the other team?’ And we both agreed that would be a great opportunity. So we went in with the mindset of wanting and the goal to make both teams.”
Just to get one international assignment is an accomplishment. Now that Christopulos has two under his belt, he’ll be able to take those experiences and channel the lessons learned ahead of another grueling NCAA season and, hopefully, Olympic Trials next June. Part of that journey will include trying to make the national team once again, which afforded Christopulos the opportunity to go to Colombia, France, and China this year. A challenging U.S. championships saw the 22-year-old left off the squad, but he’ll have another opportunity to make the team at Winter Cup in February.
“As far as the mental game, it’s huge,” Christopulos said prior to championships. “That’s one of the battles that I’m having right now. It’s just putting these new difficult skills in. You have the endurance for it, but you’ve never done like the rep. It’s kind of like you’re a new driver. Like you’ve driven a golf cart before, but when you get on the actual freeway, it’s kind of freaky a little bit. And once you start doing it more, you get a lot more comfortable. It’s the same thing like with your routine and a new skill. You just had to do it more and more. And when you see yourself doing it and you know you can do it, it builds a lot of confidence and then you can attack it. And so just getting that mental strength and mentally prepping and understanding what’s going to happen is really big.”
‘If you’re gonna go for it, you’ve got to give it all you got.’
Getting to the elite level is one challenge; continuing to be competitive is another.
Christopulos is focused on leveling up his difficulty and execution scores for the upcoming season.
“If you’re gonna go for it, you’ve got to give it all you got,” Christopulos said. “So that’s kind of what we’re doing, and what we’re trying to do is push those D-scores to give us an actual chance. Pushing that D-score for the Olympic Trials is gonna give you the best shot to make the team for the Olympics, and that’s kind of what we’re going to try and do there.”
Those planned upgrades include a laid-out Tkatchev and a Cassina on high bar, as well as a Makuts on parallel bars.
“Those are some of the big skills I’m trying to put in,” Christopulos said. “Especially Cassina – Cassina is a huge mental factor, just because it’s such a big skill. And so just trying to get those consistent there, but I’m looking forward to those.”
Tap into your resources
Like his fellow elite gymnasts, Christopulos has been training for these big moments his entire career, spanning back to 2005, when he started. the sport.
After three years of college, Christopulos admits it’s a constant challenge to maintain balance:
“Honestly, [my balance is] a little better than my freshman year, but then I still feel like sometimes I don’t really know what I’m doing. So just trying my best and taking advantage of the resources around me… just trying to make the most out of it.”
At Nebraska, those resources include his coaches, like Robinson, and his teammates.
“For men, it’s always been if you’re one of the top guys in college, you’re probably doing elite,” Christopulos said of NCAA, which serves as the U.S. men’s Olympic feeder system. “For the University of Nebraska to even give me the opportunities to compete elite and to financially provide there, and then also training facilities and the coaching staff and everything, to just have that come true is really big.
“And so finding that balance – it’s honestly just like an extra few competitions [during the school year], but then in the summer is when it gets challenging. Because you have to stay in competition shape for camps, for international assignments. So it’s been tough, because a lot of your teammates don’t do the same route. There are guys who want to, but it’s not the same when you’re training with four or five guys compared to 18 or 20. So it’s a lot more challenging in that aspect and staying motivated there.”
Though they’re not a world championships or Olympics, assignments like Pan Ams and WUG are still significant – for the individuals and for the team.
“Pan Ams was huge, like just the seniority that was there,” Christopulos said. “We see each other in college and stuff, but man, just how they created the team there. Khoi [Young], Shane [Wiskus], Yul [Moldauer], Curran [Phillips], and Donnell [Whittenburg]. Those seniors, especially like Yul, Shane, and Donnell and Curran also – and then me and Khoi, we’re kind of the young guys – they just really established a good foundation of teaching us how to be a part of a great team and how to support each other when times are hard, because, man, we had some some struggles there throughout that whole week and just trying to figure it out. And so being there for each other and supporting each other, especially in the comp where things didn’t necessarily go our way, and picking it up and moving on to the next event or onto the next day and just being there for each other was huge.”
While we often look to coaches and mentors and veterans for help, Christopulos points out that it’s important (and sometimes very difficult) to look inward and make sure you’re setting yourself up for success.
“Man, if you don’t have that mindset of like, ‘I got this,’ and believing in yourself, It’s just going to tear you down,” Christopulos said. “And so that’s the hard part is staying… chipper and positive about what you’re doing and believing in yourself. That’s really big, and it plays a big part in your success and in your progression throughout the sport, throughout your life. That’s kind of the big battle there. I think the physical side is the easier side than the mental.”
