Yul Moldauer

Yul Moldauer, a 2020 Olympian and two-time world medalist, returned to competition for the first time since 2024, earning a spot at the Winter Cup through his successful all-around performance at the Rocky Mountain Open.

A year ago, Moldauer announced that he was suspended for 16 months by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after he failed to report to three “whereabout” drug tests within the same year. Moldauer, who has never tested positive for a banned substance, said he missed two of the drug tests because they conflicted with competitions, while the third violation happened because he was 45 minutes away from the location he gave to the test-taker, who couldn’t wait more than 15 minutes for Moldauer to arrive.

Despite his explanations for his extenuating circumstances, Moldauer received a ban backdated to September 2024, making him eligible to compete again this month. His sights were set on an immediate return to elite competition, which happened last Friday night at the Rocky Mountain Open, an NCAA meet hosted by the Air Force Academy and serving as one of four qualifiers to next month’s Winter Cup. The top two all-arounders at each qualifier who aren’t already on the Winter Cup roster are eligible to receive a berth, and though Moldauer finished third on Friday night, one athlete ahead of him was already qualified, leaving him in the running to nab one of the spots.

David Shamah, a junior at Stanford, won the all-around and took the first Winter Cup spot with a 79.700, while Sasha Bogonosiuk of Oklahoma – already qualified – was second with a 79.650, and Moldauer, who represented his club but rotated with Oklahoma, his alma mater, finished third with a 79.100, his highest score coming on parallel bars, where he earned a 14.350.

In addition to Shamah and Moldauer, the others who qualified to the Winter Cup over the weekend included Drake Andrews of Ohio State with a 79.400 and Garrett Schooley of Illinois with a 77.800 at the Ohio State Open, and Landon Simpson of Penn State with a 78.550 and Brian Solomon of Navy with a 77.550 at the West Point Open.

The two remaining spots will be allocated at this weekend’s Stanford Open, which will take place on Saturday, January 24.

Article by Lauren Hopkins