Shane Wiskus has been a professional athlete since he ended his college career in 2021. But when he got his monthly stipend from USA Gymnastics, it didn't make him feel like one.
Like other post-collegiate members of the U.S. men's national team, the former Gophers gymnast has relied on that funding, which provides about $2,350 per month to Olympians age 22 and older. His fortunes changed last December. A nonprofit group established a new training center in Sarasota, Fla., offering Wiskus the chance to train in a state-of-the-art gym — and earn an actual salary.
"Before, we made barely enough to get by,'' said Wiskus, a Spring Park, Minn., native and Tokyo Olympian. "This program pays all of us, which takes away a lot of worries. You can just focus on gymnastics.''
That's what Wiskus plans to do at this weekend's U.S. Championships, which start Thursday with day one of the men's competition. He and five others in his EVO Gymnastics training group are in San Jose, Calif., to pursue senior national titles and berths on the U.S. team for this fall's world championships.
When the men's competition ends Saturday, six athletes will be named to the roster for the world meet Sept. 30-Oct. 8 in Antwerp, Belgium. Wiskus competed at the world championships in 2019 and was an alternate last year.
He intends to compete in the all-around this weekend, performing upgraded routines on pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. Since the Tokyo Olympics, the American men have worked to increase the difficulty of their routines, hoping to improve their medal chances on the world stage.
At EVO Gymnastics, Wiskus augments his national team stipend with a salary that's about the same, plus a housing allowance and performance bonuses. He's also in a top-notch training environment, giving him everything he needs to make a run toward next year's Paris Olympics.
"My biggest struggle last year was training by myself,'' said Wiskus, who was previously based at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado. "The other guys at the training center were great, but they weren't all-arounders.
