Podcasts · GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

2026 Worlds Preview Part 1: Team USA, Kaylia Nemour & Japan's Medal Threat

· 1 h 05 min · S26 E85 · Explicit

Episode 2026 Worlds Preview Part 1: Team USA, Kaylia Nemour & Japan's Medal Threat

0:00 1:04:54

Part one of our Rotterdam World Championships preview, subdivision by subdivision. Are the U.S. women the team favorites after seven straight world titles, and what counts as a successful Worlds for Skye Blakely, Hezly Rivera, Claire Pease, Reese Esponda and Charleigh Bullock? We size up Japan's first real shot at a team medal in 60 years with Aiko Sugihara and breakout star Misa Nishiyama, ask whether Kaylia Nemour is the all-around favorite, preview the floor and bars finals, and run through Germany, Romania, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Belarus, Argentina, Ukraine and the individuals you shouldn't miss. Plus: the Worlds nominative roster scare and a Ukrainian report alleging Russian money behind the FIG.

Get every episode ad-free, live Q&A after every day of Worlds and hours of extra Rotterdam podcasts with Club Gym Nerd. Want a taste first? The Worlds Bundle gets you three months of Club Gym Nerd with no auto-renewal.

Our Worlds coverage is brought to you by Sand & Sea Travel. Use code GYMCASTICWORLDS.

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Live shows: Rotterdam, Saturday October 24 after event finals, with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. New York City, Friday December 4, with Katelyn Ohashi. Streaming and in-person tickets at gymcastic.com.

Win a full commissioned episode: you pick the topic, we talk about it for an hour and a half. Enter the raffle by October 9.

Worlds tools: 2026 World Championship Headquarters (schedule in your time zone and the new leaderboard), Worlds Roster Tracker and the Elite Score Explorer.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome + Full Commission raffle

00:57 Breaking news: the Worlds roster scare

02:05 Report: Russian money and the FIG

05:34 Worlds schedule and what's on the line

09:45 Live shows: NYC with Katelyn Ohashi and Rotterdam

11:09 Subdivision 1: Is Team USA the favorite?

20:48 Germany, Romania and Amanda Yap

29:39 Subdivision 2: Japan, Australia and Belgium

36:16 Floor preview

40:35 Updates: Worlds HQ leaderboard and the Worlds Bundle

43:45 Subdivisions 3 and 4: Italy, Mexico, Sweden and Belarus

49:15 Subdivision 5: Kaylia Nemour, Argentina and Ukraine

58:16 Bars preview

Part two (France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, China and a Man Break) is out next week. Our daily Rotterdam podcasts start October 15.

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