GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

SafeSport has made Artur Akopyan, McKayla Maroney's former coach, permanently ineligible and suspended Galina Marinova for a year. Florida has removed Skylar Draser, Ly Bui and Lily Bruce from its roster. And days before Worlds, Russia still doesn't have its visas. Jessica and Spencer break it all down as they pack for Rotterdam.
This teaser is just the beginning. The full episode continues for Club Gym Nerd members with a recruiting-trip story, your questions on Danie Ferris and the Worlds entry list, U.S. vault dominance, the biomechanics of the Cheng, Kaylia Nemour and France, and more. Join Club Gym Nerd, or try the Worlds Coverage Bundle: three months of daily coverage from Rotterdam, no auto-renewal.
GymCastic Live: virtual tickets are on sale for Rotterdam with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir and New York City with Katelyn Ohashi.
Brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS.
Everything you need for Worlds is at our 2026 World Championships Headquarters and Worlds Roster Tracker.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Behind the Scenes
02:56 Breaking: SafeSport sanctions Artur Akopyan and Galina Marinova
04:03 Cecile Landi to Worlds with Mexico; Gymnasts for Change in Rotterdam
05:01 Russia still waiting on Worlds visas
08:19 GymCastic Live in Rotterdam and New York City
08:53 Worlds withdrawals, including Jennifer Williams
11:12 Florida removes three gymnasts

Part one of our Rotterdam World Championships preview, subdivision by subdivision. Are the U.S. women the team favorites after seven straight world titles, and what counts as a successful Worlds for Skye Blakely, Hezly Rivera, Claire Pease, Reese Esponda and Charleigh Bullock? We size up Japan's first real shot at a team medal in 60 years with Aiko Sugihara and breakout star Misa Nishiyama, ask whether Kaylia Nemour is the all-around favorite, preview the floor and bars finals, and run through Germany, Romania, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Belarus, Argentina, Ukraine and the individuals you shouldn't miss. Plus: the Worlds nominative roster scare and a Ukrainian report alleging Russian money behind the FIG.
Get every episode ad-free, live Q&A after every day of Worlds and hours of extra Rotterdam podcasts with Club Gym Nerd. Want a taste first? The Worlds Bundle gets you three months of Club Gym Nerd with no auto-renewal.
Our Worlds coverage is brought to you by Sand & Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS.
Limited Time Offer – Make healthy eating simple. Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code GYMCASTIC at huel.com/GYMCASTIC. New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show!
Live shows: Rotterdam, Saturday October 24 after event finals, with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. New York City, Friday December 4, with Katelyn Ohashi. Streaming and in-person tickets at gymcastic.com.
Win a full commissioned episode: you pick the topic, we talk about it for an hour and a half. Enter the raffle by October 9.
Worlds tools: 2026 World Championship Headquarters (schedule in your time zone and the new leaderboard), Worlds Roster Tracker and the Elite Score Explorer.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome + Full Commission raffle
00:57 Breaking news: the Worlds roster scare
02:05 Report: Russian money and the FIG
05:34 Worlds schedule and what's on the line
09:45 Live shows: NYC with Katelyn Ohashi and Rotterdam
11:09 Subdivision 1: Is Team USA the favorite?
20:48 Germany, Romania and Amanda Yap
29:39 Subdivision 2: Japan, Australia and Belgium
36:16 Floor preview
40:35 Updates: Worlds HQ leaderboard and the Worlds Bundle
43:45 Subdivisions 3 and 4: Italy, Mexico, Sweden and Belarus
49:15 Subdivision 5: Kaylia Nemour, Argentina and Ukraine
58:16 Bars preview
Part two (France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, China and a Man Break) is out next week. Our daily Rotterdam podcasts start October 15.

The 2026 U.S. women's World Championships team is set: Skye Blakely, Charleigh Bullock, Reese Esponda, Claire Pease and Hezly Rivera, with Dulcy Caylor as traveling alternate and Jade Carey as non-traveling alternate. Fresh off Day Two of World Team Trials in Tennessee, Jessica and Spencer break down why the five is the team, debate Jade's Cheng and the alternate decision, and run a lightning round on Rotterdam qualification and team final lineups.
This teaser is just the beginning of our weekly Behind the Scenes live Q&A. Club Gym Nerd members get the full 83-minute episode, ad-free: Jessica becomes tech support for the judges, Shilese Jones' comeback news, Rotterdam live show plans, gymnastics' floor music "Lore Horses," the case for the comebacks and more. Join Club Gym Nerd.
You pick the topic. We make the episode. Enter our Full Commission Raffle by October 9.
Brought to you by Sand and Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS.
Chapters
00:00 The 2026 U.S. Worlds Team Is Set
01:51 Jade Carey's Cheng and No Upgrades on Concrete
04:36 Day Two Recap: Claire Pease and Charleigh Bullock on Beam
07:20 Dulcy Caylor vs. Jade Carey: The Alternate Debate
13:35 Lightning Round: Worlds Qualification and Team Final Lineups
21:27 New: World Headquarters, Score Explorer and Roster Lab
24:13 The Commission Raffle, Rotterdam Tee and How to Support Us
Links
U.S. Worlds Team Announcement
GymCastic 2026 Worlds Headquarters
Elite Score Explorer | LA 2028 Roster Lab
Join Club Gym Nerd | Episode page

Claire Pease and Charleigh Bullock are going to Worlds! Reporting from Tennessee, we break down Day One of the 2026 U.S. Women's World Team Trials: Pease's upgrades, Bullock's crucial bars performance, Hezly Rivera's recovery after two bars falls, Skye Blakely's standout day, and what happens next for Jade Carey, Reese Esponda and the three remaining team spots.
This teaser is just the beginning. Join Club Gym Nerd for the full ad-free episode, athlete interviews, behind-the-scenes camp stories, deeper team predictions and our live Q&A.
You pick the topic. We make the episode. Enter our full commission raffle by October 9—the only way to commission a full GymCastic episode right now.
Our on-site reporting is supported by Sand & Sea Travel.
And also:
HUEL – Make healthy eating simple. Get 15% OFF Huel online with code GYMCASTIC. New customers only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show!

We preview the 2026 U.S. World Team Selection Camp, including the automatic qualification race, t; catch up on Worlds withdrawals, new team announcements and Asian Games. Then we dive into your feedback and questions about spironolactone and drug testing, a Tokyo Olympics rewatch, GymCastic lore, potential shortage of U.S. Brevet judges and more 
Want to win a full commissioned episode? Enter our raffle by October 9th! This is the only way to commission a full episode. We will draw the winner at Worlds in Rotterdam!
RELATED LINKS
Listen to our interview with Andrew Chupp: Adult Gymnastics Revolution
New to the show? Get caught up on inside jokes, terminology and show history with the GymCastic Lore explainer in the forum
Learn the origin story behind our sign-off in Behind The Scenes: Why We Take Off on Gay
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Welcome to Behind The Scenes
03:15 – World Team Withdrawals & Breaking News
09:45 – Asian Games Drama
23:53 – U.S. World Team Selection Camp Preview
27:12 – Automatic Spots & Team Contenders
31:52 – Jade Carey, Upgrades & Team Scenarios 4
6:11 – Gymnastics Feelings: Hengameh Hadiani of Iran 
01:00:59 – Spironolactone, PCOS & Drug Testing
01:02:52 – Rewatching the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
01:08:49 – GymCastic Lore & U.S. Brevet Judges
01:12:42 – Carlos Yulo & Asian Games Feedback
01:13:23 – Women's Health & Happy Things
01:16:30 – Selection Camp Coverage & What's Next  
SUPPORT OUR WORK
Ad Free Podcasts with Club Gym Nerd: Join Club Gym Nerd for weekly live Behind the Scenes Q&A episodes, our complete members-only archive, games, the forum and live-show discounts.
Gear Up For Rotterdam World Championships: Shop merch
Thank you Sand & Sea!  Sand & Sea Travel special GymCastic partner offer for Worlds 2026
GYMCASTIC TOOLS, GAMES AND RESOURCES
*NEW* ROTTERDAM WORLDS ROSTER TRACKER Find out who's competing in the 2026 World Championships — search WAG and MAG by name or country, find out how they qualified and link to their score rankings. Updated daily.

GymCastic tools: LA 2028 Roster Lab — Now with auto-fill highest-scoring team, team comparisons and updated roster briefs.
Elite Score Explorer — U.S. Championships scores are in, plus new charting options and the vault bonus toggle.
International Gymnastics Calendar

GymCastic Games
GymCastic Newsletters
The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer Barnes' GIF Code of Points
Gymnastics History: Gymnastics history and Code of Points archive from Uncle Tim
Resistance Resources