Never Too Late To Follow Your Dreams: Donnell Whittenburg Targets LA 2028

AN EPIC EVO-LUTION

Inside Gymnastics went in-depth with EVO Executive Director Kevin Mazeika and interviewed eight senior athletes in our April issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine for this very special behind-the-scenes look. You can see more with all of them on InsideGym.com, across our social media @InsideGym and on our Inside Gymnastics YouTube channel.

Christy Sandmaier, Nate Salsman, and Sarahy Mora Rincon contributed to “An Epic EVOlution.”

Photos by Michael Jaroh; Ricardo Bufolin and Lloyd Smith

Legacy Cemented

Donnell Whittenburg is a walking testament to strength, drive,  and determination. Faced with what at times seemed insurmountable challenges throughout his career, in 2025, at age 31, he stunned the world in one of the most astounding moments of his career, winning gold on still rings at the 2025 World Championships. It was history made. Signed, sealed, delivered. An extraordinary feat for an extraordinary human who has risen above even his own expectations at times, even when the odds seemed so stacked against him. When missing out on making a team or being sidelined injuries could have shaken anyone, Whittenburg came out stronger than ever. Now, he’s a World Champion.

Whittenburg carried a strong presence at the World Championships in Jakarta, his eyes were on the gold medal, and proving himself on the world stage again. His mindset was to keep everything as normal as possible, and do the exact same as he would do back home. It was just another day in the gym.

“It was my sixth World Championships, so I knew how things are going to run and how situations are going to happen,” Whittenburg said. “After winning rings and then having parallel bars next, honestly, I was kind of chilling after that. I was so comfortable doing that ring routine as well, because I put so many reps into that.”

With fans around the world celebrating his monumental moment, Whittenburg’s career has been further elevated by winning gold, giving him extra motivation heading into 2026. 

“I feel like it helped me get back in depth into the real high-level gymnastics that I was missing out on,” Whittenburg said. “It was definitely motivation going into this year. That being said, every year is a new year. You still have to prove yourself. Even though I’m world champion, you still have to go out there and do every routine as best as you can.”

Whittenburg has been on U.S. men’s Elite scene for well over a decade. Prior to the World Championships in Jakarta, he helped lead the men to team bronze in 2014 and won vault bronze in 2015. Twice an Olympic alternate (2016 and 2024), his salute to the crowd at the 2024 Olympic Trials following his final event was one of the most emotional the sport has seen in the U.S., and one that left us wondering if we’d seen the last chapter of his story. 

Whittenburg had other plans. 

In a career that’s taken him all over the country to train, landing at EVO was exactly what he needed.

Following the Paris Games, Whittenburg took part in the Gold Over America Tour with Simone Biles, and set his sights on continuing in the sport. But in the middle of the tour, he tore his Achilles. This injury, he said, helped solidify his plans to move to EVO due to its high-level recovery and treatment facilities.

Evo-Bound

Whittenburg immediately felt the shift in the environment when he moved to EVO. The gym made the entire system feel professional. When he arrived in Sarasota, he immediately saw the differences in training schedules. At his former gym, he mostly made his own schedule and strictly went to the gym to put his reps in on each apparatus. At EVO, they have a set plan of conditioning and pre strength training before they even train any events. The athletes put in an entire day full of work before exiting the gym. Whittenburg was slightly unsure of this plan during his first month at EVO. He jokes that he even considered leaving. 

“The first month, I was like, ‘I might leave,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know, man, I’m in my 30s. Why am I training this hard? I don’t need all this. But I mean, obviously I think it was great for me, because it really kept me in shape throughout the whole year.”

The work paid off in every conceivable way. 

In a highly competitive rings final, and as the final competitor to go, Whittenburg steeled himself for the job ahead, embraced the pressure, and did exactly what he needed to do. His routine (14.700), 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 medal statement surpassed Adem Asil of Turkey in second (14.566) and Xingyu Lan of China in third (14.500). At age 31 and 61 days, Whittenburg became the oldest American man to win a world title, surpassing Kurt Thomas, who won two golds in 1979 at age 23 and 254 days.

Whittenburg has been able to improve mentally in just his first year at EVO—you have to be mentally strong to keep up with the difficult schedule. He credits this to the professionalism that the staff and gymnasts bring on a daily basis. Not only is the staff creating the greatest gymnasts in the world, but also professionals that carry themselves with pride outside of the gym. 

“We have a pretty solid standard for professionalism at EVO that we try to carry with us in the gym and most of all outside the gym,” Whittenburg said. “We want to make sure that we hold that standard for everyone and do the best that we can to make sure that we’re being the best faces for the sport that we can and also for our club gym.”

By taking one step into EVO it is evident how strong the level of gymnastics that occurs everyday in the gym. The gym is home to multiple Olympians and World Championships, including Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Shane Wiskus. These athletes motivate each other everyday in the gym. No matter the day, you are bound to see something outstanding and the most difficult skills in the Code of Points. 

“Having them there, I would say, it’s very uplifting,” Whittenburg said. “It’s always great to just be in a gym where you just see Olympic-level gymnastics, literally every single day. We probably see triple pikes every day at practice. So it doesn’t even matter who it is, we’re gonna see something crazy, something amazing, and I feel like that just goes to show that everybody’s watching everyone around the gym, and they’re trying to get to that level. Everybody’s trying to push themselves the best they can.”

EVO has captured magic within their program, heavily developing their gymnasts on each level. From young kids, to junior Elite gymnasts, to Olympians, the gym has helped elevate the entire U.S. men’s gymnastics program. Whittenburg compares the gym to the German Bundesliga system, a professional gymnastics league that encourages athletes to expand the longevity of their careers by allowing them to be paid. Being around his teammates on a daily basis leaves Whittenburg with a sense of comfort knowing that gymnastics within the U.S. will continue to flourish. 

 “Our country is in great hands with our program that’s coming up,” Whittenburg said. “I think having EVO as this entity within the gymnastics world is definitely going to bring more attention. I would say we have some really good college athletes that may want to take that route.”

Following The Dream

Whittenburg is a great example to everyone in the gymnastics world that it is never too late to achieve your dreams. 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 in Jakarta. “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.

When I asked him the same question five months later, this time he realized how challenging it would be for someone to match his feat.  

“Looking back on it is pretty cool,” he said. “I mean who else is gonna do that? Unless you compete for a very long time, which I have. That just goes to show that it’s awesome to have longevity in the sport, especially when you feel good and still able to compete at a high level.”

As Whittenburg looks to the season ahead, his ultimate goal is to return to competition on vault and floor. The achilles injury restricted him from competing in either event in 2025. His plan is to bring back floor passes he has competed previously, and has been putting in the work to learn new transitions to align with World Gymnastics’ new artistry rules and requirements on floor exercise. 

Different requirements on floor are not the only changes in the Code of Points. A major factor to Whittenburg’s difficulty score on rings is his own “Whittenburg” dismount or the triple pike on rings. Prior to the 2025 World Championships, the FIG announced that the bonus received for that dismount will no longer be in effect beginning in 2026, a difficult change for Whittenburg.  

“I still don’t understand the reason behind the triple backs. How many guys competed and landed it? What is the issue at this point? It’s all about your preparation.”

Whittenburg ensures the triple pike is in his repertoire by continuing to train the skills into a pit, in case he wants to add the skills for important competition such as the World Championships.  

2026 is bound to be a busy and exciting year for the newly minted World Champion. Whittenburg has trusted the process that EVO has built for him, and with dreams and Olympic fire burning strong, there will be no stopping Whittenburg in this era of his incredible career. 

“For me, it’s just like age is only a number at this point, as long as you have the will and the desire to chase your dreams, why not keep going for it.”

Subscribe to Inside Gymnastics for 3 Years and receive a free gift!