“I want to win.” Patty Hoopes Targets Gold At U.S. Championships

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Over the course of the last two Olympic quads, the U.S. pommel horse field has continued to rise and get stronger year after year. New horse specialists continue to emerge, adding to the depth of the field. Currently, the leader of that field is former Air Force Academy gymnast, Patty Hoopes. Hoopes was undeniable in every competition he entered throughout 2025. In April of that year, he won his second-consecutive NCAA pommel horse title, in August he took home the U.S. title on the event, and he finished his year with a bronze medal at the World Championships in October. Hoopes has no plans of slowing down and is open about his goals for 2026: To win. 

“I’m just very competitive, so I always just want to go out and win every competition that I go to.” 

Just Gymnastics 

For the first time in Hoopes’ career, he is able to almost entirely put his sole focus on his gymnastics career. In college, he was required to balance gymnastics with school along with his many military briefs and commitments that Air Force students are required to attend. When asked if this transition to extra free time was weird for him, he simply answered, “Dude, it’s awesome.” He is able to put in the extra time in the gym instead of cramming gymnastics into his already busy schedule. 

“My entire life has been something else plus gymnastics,” he explained. “At the Academy, I had the military aspect which was taking up a good chunk of the day.” 

A typical day for Hoopes in college was spent with school, military training, and gymnastics. His wake up call would be roughly 6:30 AM, and he would immediately go to military training from 7 AM-8 AM. He would then spend the rest of his morning in class before marching to lunch. After lunch, he would have downtime which was usually filled with more military training! From 2 PM-6 PM, he would have gymnastics practice followed by dinner, and then he spent the rest of his night completing homework…then he would wake up and do it all again the next day. 

“Definitely looking back, I was like, wow, that was a lot of stuff,” Hoopes told me in August of 2025. “I mean, I obviously made it easier by breaking it down and focusing on it by sections of the day. Now, it’s like, that was a lot of stuff I had to get through.”

Hoopes has remained training at Air Force following his college graduation and has joined the Air Force World Class Athlete Program the school offers. The program covers all of Hoopes’ training expenses, travel and hotel expenses for competition, and any other needs he may have. 

“I’m given the opportunity through the World Class Athlete Program to really dial in and be able to focus on gymnastics for the first time in my life,” Hoopes said about his new training schedule. “Going through college, we had a four hour block of time trying to get our assignment done. Now training has shifted to stay as long as it takes you to get done. Being able to spend an extra hour in the gym has been super helpful for me, making sure I’m in the shape I need to be in, rather than feeling like I’m in this massive rush.”

The vast majority of Hoopes’ day is focused on his training with some military paperwork and meetings sprinkled in through his week. He is currently serving part of his Air Force commitment and plans on finishing his remaining three years after the LA 2028 Olympic Games. He is still contemplating if he wants to make a career out of his military service or change routes after he serves his commitment.

Finally Golden 

Hoopes approaches every aspect of his life with his signature upbeat and happy energy. That energy shines through in every interview with him. It’s this calm presence that he translates directly to competition and has provided him with immense success. Despite his already lengthy resume, there was one important medal missing from his collection: an international gold medal. That changed when Hoopes traveled to Brazil to compete at the Pan American Championships in June, taking home the pommel horse title. 

“I’ve been stuck on getting third for the past little bit, and to be honest I was kind of getting fed up with it! It was getting a little annoying,” he said through laughter. “At that point, I was like at least the silver! Being able to win was super awesome, so I was really happy that I got to have that experience. Brazil was awesome. Meeting all the different athletes, that was all incredible.”

Prior to competing at the Pan American Championships, Hoopes competed at two World Cups in Osijek and Cottbus. While he didn’t take home a medal at either event, he approached these meets differently. With his first season out of the NCAA, Hoopes needed to find a place to experiment with upgrades and different routine constructions in a low pressure environment. 

“We kind of swapped how we thought about it, more treating those meets as NCAA regular season competition,” he explained. “I was trying to push some upgrades that weren’t worth it in the end, so I didn’t have as much success at those two World Cups, because I was trying to push upgrades, but we used it to gauge what I was going to score internationally, and also what was worth it and what wasn’t. When we moved into Pan Am selection and Pan Ams going into Championships, we were able to dial in the routine that’s actually going to be worth it.”

Won’t Back Down

Hoopes’ competitive nature didn’t make walking home from the World Cup competitions empty-handed easy, but he knows that the experience gained will help him in the long run. Hoopes simplified his routine in Brazil to take home gold and is still creating his plan for the routine he will use at the upcoming Xfinity U.S. Championships in Phoenix. There are three potential upgrades Hoopes could implement. While he could remain clean with the routine he performed at the Pan American Championships, the bonus system that is used in Phoenix that rewards gymnasts for more difficulty is an added incentive to attempt a harder routine. He has three potential upgrades up his sleeve that he could add. 

“We’re still figuring out what my exact routine is. I have a couple of upgrades that I’ve been training. Each one is worth one-tenth, and we’ve been debating what is worth it versus what’s not worth it. It definitely gets more complicated when we start dealing with the bonus system, because it’s a little more worth it than what would be at a normal international competition. In a perfect world, I’m able to put all three in, but it’s probably not going to happen. I think we’re shooting for putting one of the skills in or just doing the same routine I did for Pan Ams.” 

Hoopes understands that having the right strategy for the U.S. Championships is key as he will be up against a stiff pommel horse field. His competitors include World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist on the event, Stephen Nedoroscik, as well as the 2026 NCAA pommel horse champion Brandon Dang. Hoopes says having this competition at a domestic meet eases the pressure when competing at international meets. 

“I think it helps lessen the pressure when you go to these larger competitions because the scores are kind of around the same point,” Hoopes said. “Every single one of us in the U.S. has the same chance to go out to a World Championship and get a medal, which means at the U.S. Championships we’re competing at close to the same level as it would be at the World Championships.”

Having this direct competition helps prepare Hoopes mentally for bigger competitions later on in the year. By the time he arrives at the World Championships, he knows he can win a medal because he has already competed in plenty of high pressure scenarios. 

“It helps with the mental battle. I think that’s something that’s an advantage for U.S. horse specialists. We have this big competitive field within the U.S., so we’re all pushing each other stateside before moving on to these larger competitions.” 

Hoopes’ role has changed in 2026. He is now the horse specialist that the others are trying to catch. However, this doesn’t change his mindset. He understands the packed field and that it is likely that only one of those specialists will compete at the World Championships in October. 

“I still feel like I’m in the same boat that I have been, and I think that just comes with everyone else being at that level,” Hoopes said. “The competition is going to be just as tough going into this year’s U.S. Championships. The preparation feels the exact same going into this year’s championships as last year’s.”

With that extra time in the gym, Hoopes has been able to add parallel bars back to his repertoire. He continued to train the event throughout his college career but started to put together a full routine again following his NCAA career. He wants to be able to show the selection committee that they could rely on him as a back up for the event in a team situation. He was prepared to compete the event at Pan Ams but decided not to risk an injury. While he is looking forward to competing on the event, he may wait until he is able to add more skills and upgrades. 

“I don’t think I’m ever gonna hit the point where I’m Zou Jingyuan or winning medals on p-bars,” he joked about the reigning Olympic Champion on parallel bars. “I don’t think that’s in the cards for me. The goal for p-bars for me is later in this cycle when it comes to a team competition, that maybe I can be the reserve p-bar guy or be able to put up a set.”

Worlds on the Mind

Hoopes had a standout experience at the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. From winning a medal, to the weather, to fun moments with his teammates, he couldn’t have asked for much more. The competition also taught him how to think on his feet and be prepared for any bump in the road. During the qualifying round, his subdivision was running ahead of schedule, and Team USA was rotating to pommel horse before Hoopes and his coach entered the field of play. This forced him to sprint from one corner of the arena to the other right as the one touch warmup began. To make matters even more challenging, Hoopes was first up for Team USA, making it impossible to have a moment to catch his breath. 

“I had to dead sprint over to the horse to get my one touch out of the way,” he recalled. “I’m going for the one touch, and I’m out of breath. Then I finish the one touch, and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I have to breathe, I have to catch my breath.’ I did the routine, and I think that actually helped out, because I think if I got the chance to like sit around and think about it, I think I would have gotten really nervous, but instead I was just freaking out about being late. My arms felt really tired after that routine. I don’t usually feel that tired after a set. I was like, “I wonder if it’s because I just didn’t have enough oxygen going through my body!” 

Most athletes would be thrown off by those struggles, but Hoopes handled it like a champ, proving he is ready for even bigger moments that await him.  It is these moments that fuel his desire to return to gymnastics’ biggest stage in 2026. He has one thing on his mind as he enters the most important part of his season: Winning. 

“I’m just really competitive. I just want to win, that’s kind of it!” 

Catch Hoopes at the Xfinity U.S. Championships on August 6-9.

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Photos By: Ricardo Bufolin and Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics