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Oklahoma gymnastics: Former Sooner Yul Moldauer going to Tokyo Olympics

By Chip Rouse

August 17, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Yul Muldauer competes on the rings during the 2017 P&G Gymnastics Championships at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
August 17, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Yul Muldauer competes on the rings during the 2017 P&G Gymnastics Championships at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Oklahoma gymnast Yul Moldauer on Saturday earned a spot on the U.S. men’s gymnastics team headed to next month’s Tokyo Olympics.

Moldauer, a 2019 OU graduate and one of the highest decorated Sooner gymnasts of all time, secured his spot on the four-man U.S. team with a second-place finish in the all-around competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials in St. Louis over the weekend.

The former Sooner also scored top-three finishes on parallel bars (first place), pommel horse (second), floor exercise (third) and still rings (tied for third).

Moldauer is joined on the team by another former Sooner, Allan Bower, a 2017 OU graduate. Bower was named as one of four others named as alternates.

In a network television interview after the team selection was officially announced, Moldauer said:

“I remember thinking today, this is what I’ve been thinking about every day as a child, and this is my opportunity to take it. I can’t be thankful enough to everyone who helped me get to this spot…especially my coaches, my family and my teammates at OU.”

“No matter what gym I’m at now, there’s always going to be Sooner Magic or Sooner blood inside me, no matter where I go,” he said later in a post-competition interview session.

Several other OU gymnasts also competed in the Olympic gymnastic trials in St. Louis.

Senior Vitaliy Guimaraes finished 11th in the all-around and fourth on vault. OU senior captain

Gage Dyer was hoping to earn a spot on the team as a specialist. He competed on vault and in floor exercise, finishing third on vault and fourth in the latter. His 14.650 score on floor was third to Olympic team members Moldauer (14.800) and Sam Mikulak (14.700).

Former Sooner Matt Wenske was 14th in the all-around.

Moldauer is the seventh Olympian in men’s gymnastics from the University of Oklahoma. He joins Bart Conner (1984), Guard Young (2004), Jon Horton (2008 and 2012), Jake Dalton (2012 and 2016), Alex Naddor (2016) and Chris Brooks (2016).

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