Donnell Whittenburg Wins Gold; Hoopes and Roberson Bronze

AND FINALLY, IT WAS GOLD

In his sixth World Championship, Donnell Whittenburg won still rings gold (14.700) in a highly competitive final at the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. As the final competitor to go, Whittenburg steeled himself for the job ahead, embraced the pressure, and did exactly what he needed to do, becoming the first U.S. man ever to win rings at a World Championships. His routine, a mastery of sheer strength, was complete with the triple pike dismount aka “The Whittenburg”, and one of the finest of his entire career.

His gold surpassed Adem Asil of Turkey in second (14.566) and Xingyu Lan of China in third (14.500). This is Whittenburg’s third World Championship medal in total, ten years after his last medal, a bronze on vault in 2015. Per a note from USA Gymnastics, at age 31 and 61 days, Whittenburg also became by far the oldest American man to win a world title, surpassing Kurt Thomas, who won two golds in 1979 at age 23 and 254 days.

At the Xfinity U.S. Championships in August, and earlier this week in Jakarta, Whittenburg confirmed his resolve to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With the gold secure, we may only be seeing the beginning of what’s already been a truly extraordinary career for Whittenburg.

Competing in his first World Championships, Patrick Hoopes won bronze on pommel horse, while Joscelyn Roberson won individual event bronze on vault. This was also the first individual medal for Roberson, who won team gold at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, but missed the event final after sustaining an injury just before the team final there.

Following the competition, no one was happier about her medal than Roberson, telling us, “When I got here, I just really got in my head about it and lost all of my confidence. So, just finding the confidence again, I’m really proud of myself.”

2025 World All-Around Champion Angelina Melnikova (AIN) added to her collection with a gold on vault; Kaylia Nemour (ALG) took gold on bars; Jake Jarman (GBR) won floor; and Hong Yanming (CHN) won pommel horse.

The final day of competition at the 2025 World Championships showcases women’s balance beam and floor exercise, and men’s vault, parallel bars, and high bar. For Team USA, Dulcy Caylor will compete on beam and floor, Whittenburg on parallel bars, and Brody Malone on high bar.

Finals will air in the United States on Saturday, October 25 at 3 am ET and stream LIVE on Peacock. The competition can also be viewed on Eurovision Sport outside of the US.

Inside Gymnastics magazine is onsite in Jakarta to bring you all of the latest from the floor! Stay tuned to our social media @InsideGym and right here on InsideGym.com for for updates! Video Coverage in Jakarta for Inside Gymnastics provided by Nate Salsman.

Scroll ofr Nate Salsman’s feature on Donnell following Qualifications!

“I Guess That Means I’m Old” Donnell Whittenburg Becomes First U.S. Man To Compete At Six World Championships

It was a star-studded day for Donnell Whittenburg of Team USA during Qualifications at the 2025 World Championships. Whittenburg competed on high bar, rings, and parallel bars. He took a fall on high bar in the first rotation, but quickly made fans forget about the mistake. He soared through his rings routine earning a 14.700 and finishing second after qualification. He then moved to parallel bars where he executed a picture perfect routine that earned a 14.300 and qualified to yet another final. 

“I’ve been training my butt off to get to this moment, and I’m just, I’m just glad I was able to really show exactly what I was capable of.” Whittenburg told Inside Gymnastics following competition. With his appearance in Jakarta, he became the first U.S. man to compete at six World Championships (2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2025). While a significant feat, for Whittenburg, he just feels it’s showing his age. 

“That just means I’m old,” he said with a laugh. “You know, as long as you have a dream, you shouldn’t stop trying to chase it. And I feel like this is just a stepping stone of my ultimate goal.” 

That ultimate goal? The Olympics in 2028, of course. “Absolutely” he says when asked about targeting LA and competing in an Olympic Games on home turf.

 A major factor to his success has been the switch to training at EVO Gymnastics. The gym is home to Olympic coaches Sam Mikulak and Syque Caesar, and has helped multiple athletes excel in their gymnastics at later points in their careers. 

“For me, it mostly helped with just getting me in a better routine,” Whittenburg said. “We do a lot of reps there, the conditioning is way more than what I used to do before I moved to Evo. And I mean, it was tough at first, it took me almost a month to get used to, but I feel like it was all worth it, because it got me to this position.”

Previously, Whittenburg has won two World Championship bronze medals, one with the team in 2014, and one on vault in 2015. Now he’s in prime position to add another medal to his case, specifically on still rings where he has the highest difficulty score amongst the competitors in Jakarta. A major factor to that difficulty score is his own “Whittenburg” dismount or the triple pike on rings. Prior to the World Championships, the FIG announced that the bonus received for that dismount will no longer be in effect beginning in 2026, a frustrating change for Whittenburg. 

“I feel as though the World Championships would be a great place to show people that hey, there’s guys out here doing the triple backs and triple pikes, and they’re doing them safely, and, well, prepared to do them, but you can’t change the rules. You just gotta do what you can. And I guess I have to do more strength!”

Despite the change, Whittenburg is still planning on performing the difficult dismount in 2026 for the wow factor. 

Whittenburg will now shift his focus to both days of event finals. Catch him in the still rings final on October 24 and the parallel bars final on October 25! Competition is scheduled to stream LIVE on Eurovision Sport and Peacock.

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