Ex-Gophers gymnast Shane Wiskus no longer scraping by financially

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.

"Now I have someone to train with on every event. That's really made a difference. It's motivational to have teammates push you and hold you accountable.''

Wiskus' training partners in Florida include Stephen Nedoroscik, the world pommel horse champion in 2021; fellow Tokyo Olympian Brody Malone and alternate Alex Diab; and national team member Curran Phillips. Three-time Olympian Sam Mikulak is among the coaches.

They have helped put Wiskus in good form for the championships. He competed in three events at the U.S. Classic earlier this month, winning the high bar title, finishing third on parallel bars and placing seventh on pommel horse.

In the past, Wiskus felt pressure to perform well so he could pay his rent. With those worries behind him, he's free to live in the moment.

"The Olympics are next year, and my goal is just to train as hard as I can, so I can put myself in position to get there,'' he said. "Going into championships, I've been slowly improving and adding difficulty as time goes on. I feel like everything is falling right where it needs to be.''