06 Aug An Epic EVOlution In Phoenix! EVO Invests In A Collective Dream
Co-Publisher’s Note: EVO Invests In A Collective Dream
I will never forget sitting in press row during the 2024 Olympic Trials. No matter how many competitions I cover, there’s always something extraordinarily more emotional about covering Trials. As media, we have the honor of covering so many of these athletes from their careers as juniors to those incredible moments that a select few earn the opportunity to represent their country on the world or Olympic stage. While those moments are unmatched in their own way, an Olympic Trials is often the culmination of so many careers.
In 2024, I have very specific memories of Donnell Whittenburg saluting the capacity crowd following his final routine of the competition. Everyone was on their feet, many in tears. Including me. I wasn’t standing (although I wanted to) but I definitely had a lot of tears. I wondered if this was the final time we’d see him in action, his Olympic dream coming up just short. One year later, Whittenburg became a World Champion on rings. Landing at EVO, it seems his career has had a resurgence, and he’s more determined than ever to make it to LA.
In the May issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine, we told his story, alongside so many others, who have come together to chase a collective dream at EVO in support of the entire men’s program. When I shared my memory of Whittenburg with EVO’s Executive Director Kevin Mazeika during a conversation for the issue, both of us got emotional all over again.
While Whittenburg is injured (partially torn bicep and rotator cuff) and not in Phoenix this week to compete for National titles, one look at his instagram tells us the fire is brighter than ever, and he’ll be back competing for a spot in LA28. His EVO teammate, two-time world high bar champion and 2024 Olympic team bronze medalist, Brody Malone, is taking the year off from competition and will also be a huge factor for this Team USA. Fan-favorite Jackson Harrison is also out with injury, but an entire roster of EVO stars is on the floor in Phoenix ready to make some noise.
Watching them in podium training, it’s evident the program is working and creating momentum. They move as a unit on the floor—moving boards, setting equipment, and supporting each other at every turn, with a little dancing, and a pair of sunglasses or two mixed in. It’s incredible to watch and it’s a team dynamic that’s building fast. There are 14 EVO athletes (8 seniors and 6 juniors) competing for spots on the national team and beyond this weekend. Together, they are pushing the limits and writing their own headlines.
In the press conference following podium training on Wednesday, 2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus, who has been on the comeback trail, told the media that training at EVO has been a major factor in his motivation. “To have other teammates to hold you accountable and keep you motivated, it just changes the dynamic completely for me,” he said. “It’s a big team with a lot of senior national team members, and world champions, Olympians. You name it, we got it. So it’s a great environment.”
2024 Olympic team and pommel horse bronze medalist, Stephen Nedoroscik, who became one of the heroes in Paris and earned the nickname “Superman” for his clutch performance and resemblance to the beloved fictional character Clark Kent, is also in the midst of another comeback as he recovers from hip surgery which took place in October of 2025. Nedoroscik, who came to EVO from Penn State, noted: “We are all tied together with the same dreams and hopes, goals in the sport and working together to get to those goals. It’s just amazing.”
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The following article originally appeared in the May issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine.
Team With A Dream
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Frederick Richard hit 18- for-18 routines and landed on the podium, winning the first team medal for the U.S. men’s team since the 2008 team captured bronze. A little over a year later, Malone captured his second world title on high bar at the 2025 World Championships, adding to the gold he won in 2022.
Writing the story of the year and creating a global sensation was his U.S. teammate Donnell Whittenburg, who in his sixth world championship at age 31, won gold on still rings. And in the same arena, Patty Hoopes won bronze on pommel horse, while world championship rookie Kameron Nelson made floor finals, placing 4th in his first-ever appearance. Together, these athletes are championing a collective dream to elevate men’s gymnastics in the United States to new heights and raise the sport’s profile. With an eye on team gold in LA 2028, the medal possibilities for this team are more than just dreams this quad, they’re very, very real.
The EVOlution
Inside the 40,000+ square gym in Sarasota, Florida, the next generation, and the world, are taking notice. Success breeds success, and every athlete is working towards making Team USA its very best.
At EVO Gymnastics, with team veterans training alongside a group of rising stars, each day brings a new level of excellence and the opportunity for the athletes to push themselves beyond where they ever believed they could go. All by design.
Home-base to Malone, Whittenburg, Nedoroscik, and Nelson, EVO provides state-of-the-art equipment and systems for physical therapy, wellness, and recovery to promote longevity in the sport, along with the unique opportunity for funding in order to train full-time as professional gymnasts. The current EVO roster also includes 2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus, 2020 Olympic alternate Alex Diab, rising stars Danila Leykin and Josh Karnes, who recently won gold with Team USA at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, Penn State standout Michael Jaroh, and fan-favorite, 2026 Winter Cup bronze medalist on vault, Jackson Harrison. A lineup of world-class coaches, including Syque Caesar, Sam Mikulak, Sergei Pakanich, helps lead the men’s team.
Each athlete traveled a markedly different path in their career prior to landing at EVO. Currently, eight are fully funded. Whether they arrived from the NCAA, GymAct, the former USOPTC training center, a club program, or all of the above, inside EVO, egos are left at the door. Likewise, whether you’re an Olympic medalist, World Champion, or up-and-comer, the playing field is equal. Everyone puts in the work, and everyone supports each other.
With many in the sport waiting and wondering whether it would work, nearly five years in, what EVO set out to accomplish is evident in the results and already exceeding the expectations of Executive Director Kevin Mazeika.
“We needed an opportunity for athletes to train, solely focusing on their job of being the best gymnast they can be,” Mazeika told Inside. “The post-collegiate athletes or non-NCAA athletes needed a place to be. It was tough [in the beginning]. I mean, it still is. Olympic sports don’t get the funding or support that they need. We’re constantly pushing, and yet, we’re not going to let our goals be deterred by having to do the extra. We need to raise funds and keep working on sponsors. It’s hard, but I think it’s worth it. This collective dream, it really does create an energy.”
Mazeika, a native of Houston, who competed in NCAA gymnastics at Southern Illinois University under coach Bill Meade, began coaching men’s gymnastics in 1984 and has served on the National Team Coaching Staff since 1988. As a three-time Olympic head coach (2004, 2008, 2012), he led the U.S. men to back-to-back Olympic team medals— silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008. The 2004 silver was the first men’s team medal in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1932.
Leading EVO offered him the opportunity to build a program from the ground up. Guiding the athletes and his staff are his passion. It’s what drives him every single day. “
Number one—in keeping the vision of helping the men’s team—is to work with our coaches, Caesar, Mikulak, and Pakanich, and the whole staff to ensure that we’re on track and helping Team USA,” Mazeika said. “We’re a full club and we’ve got a great staff in each area. Everybody understands the mission. It’s quite a palpable, positive energy in the gym day in and day out. My real passion is in coaching and helping the U.S. men’s team reach the top of the podium.”
This Is How Legends Are Made
Defined by gratitude and opportunity, the entire team of athletes and coaches at EVO focuses on those guiding principles, and constant self-evaluation to drive their efforts every day. With LA 2028 just two years away, the energy, excitement, and yes, pressure is building. There will be huge expectations on the U.S. men’s team to top what they did in Paris and bring home gold.
Mazeika embraces that.
“We try to stay grounded in humility, gratitude, and understand that we get to do this,” he said. “It’s an amazing pursuit. Of course, it can be stressful. Yet, I guess it’s paradoxical. You’re stressed, but you’re also excited, that we’re putting ourselves in a position to be the best team in the world.
“It’s not going to be easy, of course,” Mazeika continued. “The other countries aren’t slowing down. And yet, when you have this collective push and vision to reach the top of the podium, then everybody does the extra work and everything that needs to happen to get there. We can’t predict the outcome, we can control the controlables, and that’s work ethic and specificity in the work that we’re doing. We’re on one of the best trajectories that we’ve had in a long, long time. 1984, the USA men’s team won, and here we are 44 years later in LA with an opportunity to reach the top of the podium.”
Winning gold is certainly at the top of everyone’s minds, but beyond that, an even bigger picture is part of the dream: the future of the sport. “It’s such an awesome sport. We want to have more boys involved throughout the country,” Mazeika said. “It’s great to win it, but you can, in fact, affect an entire generation behind you.”
With what’s being built at EVO and with Team USA’s current success, Mazeika believes that, collectively, the needle can move forward. “You know, going back to what you asked me, why did I do this? To do our part in helping the USA men’s team. When this opportunity availed itself, I said, ‘I think we can help move the needle, because of guys having the ability to train full-time.’ And so far, that’s proven to be the case.”
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