Olympics gymnastics trials: Former Gophers star Shane Wiskus second after first day

ST. LOUIS – Like any fan of the Olympics, Shane Wiskus has been following the stories of athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic trials. "It's really inspiring," the former Gophers gymnast said. "It's cool to see people's dreams come true, and to see people work through adversity and keep pushing through."

Wiskus hopes to realize his own Olympic dream this week, at the U.S. Olympic trials for gymnastics. Thursday, he proved he could handle that working-through-adversity part just fine. The Spring Park native zoomed into second place in the all-around standings on day one of the men's competition, moving a step closer to making the Olympic team that will be announced Saturday.

Three weeks ago, Wiskus fell three times from the high bar on his final event at the U.S. championships. That was one of his best events Thursday at The Dome at America's Center. His score of 13.800 on high bar helped stake Wiskus to an early lead in the all-around, though Brody Malone overtook him late in the competition.

Malone, the U.S. and NCAA champion in the all-around, tops the standings with a score of 85.250. Wiskus is next with 84.300, followed by Yul Moldauer (83.650) and Sam Mikulak (83.200).

Scores from day one carry over to Saturday, with the athlete earning the highest cumulative score receiving an automatic berth on the Olympic team. The second-place finisher in the all-around also will make the team if he places in the top three in at least three events. Wiskus was first on parallel bars, third on vault and third on high bar Thursday.

Malone, who was in the top three in four events, was the only other athlete to meet that standard. The U.S. roster will include four gymnasts for the team competition, one who will compete individually and as many as five alternates.

How to watch the gymnastics trials: Streaming and TV options

USA Gymnastics did not make Wiskus or Malone available for comment after the competition. But Wiskus' coach, Kostya Kolesnikov, said he was "absolutely proud" of how Wiskus performed.

"He did everything we planned to do, everything he needed to do," said Kolesnikov, a former U assistant who now coaches Wiskus at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. "Our plan was to be ahead early, as much as possible.

"He had a very strong beginning on vault, then he was very clean on parallel bars. That set him up well."

Vault had given Wiskus some trouble recently, but not Thursday. His Kasamatsu landed straight and true, with only a tiny hop on the landing. As Wiskus walked off the mat, he let out a yell and pumped his fists, energized by a score of 14.600.

A two-time NCAA champion on parallel bars, Wiskus' score of 14.500 would stand as the highest on that event Thursday. After two rotations, his total score of 29.100 put him in first place, with the high bar up next.

Day 1: Men's gymnastics standings

At a virtual news conference Wednesday, Wiskus said he had worked with a sports psychologist to put the falls in his last competition out of his mind quickly. As he waited his turn, the crowd in the arena — a curtained-off portion of St. Louis' former NFL stadium — grew quiet.

Wiskus cruised through a smooth, steady routine, then let out his emotion with another primal yell and fist pump after his feet hit the mat.

Malone slipped past him on the fifth of six rotations. With Wiskus on pommel horse — not one of his highest-scoring events — Malone could move ahead with a well-executed vault, and his score of 14.500 put him into first place.

Kolesnikov said Wiskus will try to be a little cleaner and sharper with his execution Saturday. He will spend Friday resting and recovering for what his coach called "a very important day."

So will Mikulak, who admitted to being impressed with Thursday's top three.

"I think what's really good is they're just comfortable," Mikulak said. "They're relaxed. They're being themselves out there.

"Being able to do that at a young age, that's really important. This is a stressful time. To be able to go out and be confident, it's a real important quality to have."