Nate Salsman & Kensley Behel on Men’s Rotterdam Worlds qualifications

Another detailed breakdown on what went right β€”Β and what went wrong.

Everyone is excited about Fujitsu computer analysis finally being used. But like all new technologies, it’s prone to mistakes and even hallucinations.

Nate Salsman is here for Inside Gymnastics magazine.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

RESULTS βž™ Men’s Gymnastics World Championships Rotterdam Finalists

Men’s Qualifications Conclude at Rotterdam Worlds; Field Set for Team, All-Around and Apparatus Finals

2026 Gymnastics Worlds Qualifications: Hits, Misses & Surprises

Japan Leads Team Qualifications in Men’s Competition at Worlds

Team

Top 8 from the qualification competition move on to the 3-up, 3-count Team Final.

Japan are strong favourites to win. BUT anything can happen in Men’s Gymnastics.

  1. Japan 254.529
  2. Great Britain 251.460
  3. Russia 249.162
  4. China 247.493
  5. United States 245.961
  6. Switzerland 244.430
  7. Netherlands 242.995
  8. Colombia 242.727

All-around

Zhang Boheng is out with injury.

  1. Oka Shinnosuke JPN 85.098
  2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 84.632
  3. Arseniy Dukhno RUS 83.866
  4. Jake Jarman GBR 83.698
  5. Yang Haonan CHN 83.464
  6. Illia Kovtun CRO 83.099
  7. Joe Fraser GBR 83.065
  8. Angel Barajas COL 82.831
  9. Camilo Vera COL 82.764
  10. Fred Richard USA 82.098
  11. Daniel Marinov RUS 81.564
  12. Yumin Abbadini ITA 81.065
  13. Florian Langenegger SUI 80.599
  14. Noe Seifert SUI 80.598
  15. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN 80.264
  16. Nurtan Idrissov KAZ 79.665
  17. Elijah Faverus NED 79.466
  18. Anthony Mansard FRA 79.199
  19. Victor Martinez BEL 79.063
  20. NaΓ«l Sakouhi FRA 78.999
  21. Danila Leykin USA 78.998
  22. Sam Zakutney CAN 78.764
  23. Timo Eder GER 78.465
  24. Jermain GrΓΌnberg NED 78.432

Floor

  1. Arseniy Dukhno RUS 14.700
  2. Carlos Yulo PHI 14.500
  3. Artem Dolgopyat ISR 14.300
  4. Fred Richard USA 14.233
  5. Jake Jarman GBR 14.133
  6. Yahor Sharamkou BLR 14.100
  7. Noam Berkovich ISR 14.033
    – Doi Ryosuke JPN 14.033

Pommels

  1. Hamlet Manukyan ARM 14.933
  2. Nariman Kurbanov KAZ 14.866
  3. Gabriele Targetta ITA 14.833
  4. Mamikon Khachatryan ARM 14.733
  5. Patrick Hoopes USA 14.666
  6. Hur Woong KOR 14.633
  7. Kilan van der Aa BEL 14.600
  8. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 14.533

This will likely be the best and closest apparatus final. Consider the superstars who DIDN’T qualify:

Rings

  1. Lan Xingyu CHN 14.733
  2. Ilya Zaika RUS 14.53
  3. Courtney Tulloch GBR 14.500
  4. Artur Avetisyan ARM 14.233
  5. Mehmet Ayberk Kosak TUR 14.233
  6. Glen Cuyle BEL 14.100
  7. Oka Shinnosuke JPN 14.066
  8. Eleftherios Petrounias GRE 14.033

Vault

  1. Jake Jarman GBR 14.633
  2. Artur Davtyan ARM 14.633
  3. Nazar Chepurnyi UKR 14.450
  4. Arseniy Dukhno RUS 14.350
  5. Kawakami Shohei JPN 14.283
  6. Carlos Yulo PHI 14.266
  7. Sebastian Sponevik NOR 14.233
  8. Harry Hepworth GBR 14.216

P Bars

  1. Zou Jingyuan CHN 15.466
  2. Illia Kovtun UKR 14.900
  3. Oka Shinnosuke JPN 14.866
  4. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 14.800
  5. Daniel Marinov RUS 14.700
  6. Arseniy Dukhno RUS 14.600
  7. Noe Seifert SUI 14.600
  8. David Rumbutis SWE 14.500

H Bar

  1. Kawakami Shohei JPN 14.600
  2. Tang Chia-Hung TWN 14.566
  3. Oka Shinnosuke JPN 14.500
  4. Jesse Moore AUS 14.366
  5. Angel Barajas COL 14.333
  6. Sergei Naidin RUS 14.233
  7. Camilo Vera COL 14.166
  8. Yumin Abbadini ITA 14.166

Men’s World Championships Rotterdam – day 1 qualification round

Japan takes command as Oka leads all-around qualification after the fourth subdivision at Rotterdam Worlds

Oka Shinnosuke leads the way for Japan on opening day of Artistic Gymnastics Worlds

Results after 2/3rds of the competition complete:

TEAM

  1. Japan
  2. Great Britain
  3. WG2

USA sitting 4th after quite a rough day of qualification.

I was impressed with host Netherlands (5th) and breakout nation Colombia (6th).

France (7th) was good, too. Canada (8th) had a disappointing day.

I don’t think China can challenge Japan in the Team Final with Zhang Boheng injured. Japan has no weaknesses. Rings is the weakest apparatus, and they are 2nd as a team so far behind GBR.

All-around

  1. Oka Shinnosuke
  2. Hashimoto Daiki
  3. Dukhno Arsenii

Many of the top guys had one or two errors in qualifying. They’ll all be trying to hit 6 / 6 perfectly in the AA Final.

Floor

  1. Dukhno Arsenii
  2. Richard Frederick (amazing landings)
  3. Jarman Jake (monster difficulty)

Kam Nelson did a huge routine, as well, with Triple Pike and Triple Tuck. But had many landing deductions. He won’t be in the Final.

Pommels

  1. Manukyan Hamlet
  2. Khachatryan Mamikon
  3. Hoopes Patrick

Some of the other top contenders had minor deductions probably keeping them out of the Final: Carroll Jordan, Lee Chih-Kai, McClenaghan Rhys.

Rhys might still sneak in.

Rings

  1. Zaika Ilia
  2. Tulloch Courtney (stuck Triple Tuck)
  3. Avetisyan Artur

Perhaps the weakest final as many of the top guys in the world didn’t make it to Rotterdam.

Legend Petrounias Eleftherios sitting 6th, so far.

Vault

  1. Jarman Jake
  2. Davtyan Artur
  3. Chepurnyi Nazar


Dukhno Arsenii
4th.

P Bars

  1. Kovtun Illia
  2. Oka Shinnosuke
  3. Hashimoto Daiki

H Bar

  1. Kawakami Shohei
  2. Tang Chia-Hung (with a slightly easier routine)
  3. Oka Shinnosuke

Moore Jesse sitting 4th. I’m still waiting for Jesse to put together a perfect AA meet. He’s one of the most underrated gymnasts in the world.

Full results.

Click PLAY or watch analysis of Day 1 on YouTube.

World Gymnastics Championships Rotterdam MEN’s predictions

The most detailed analysis of the Men’s competition I’ve seen is from zhoxxyy.

Click through to see βž™ 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam Predictions

Crunching the numbers, he considers the favourites to be …

AA – Hashimoto Daiki (JPN)

Floor – Arsenii DukhnoΒ (RUS)

Pommels – GabrieleΒ TarghettaΒ (ITA)

Rings – LanΒ XingyuΒ (CHN)

Vault – Artur Davtyan (ARM)

P Bars – Zou Jingyuan (CHN)

H Bar – Tang Chia-Hung (TPE)

Brody Malone previews H Bar at Worlds Rotterdam

He feels Fusuke Maeda will win IF he can hit his crazy difficult routine.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Men’s Podium Training Rotterdam

6 subdivisions.

Kensley posted a LIVE BLOG.

In 2026, men are doing more in Podium training than in the past, I believe.

Still, only a small percentage are going 100% on full routines. Nobody wants to win warm-ups.

Here’s an up-to-date list of all competitors.

My biggest takeaway is the JAPAN WILL WIN TEAM. So much difficulty. So well prepared to hit routines.

The big 5 teams are Japan, GBR, China, USA, Russia.

China will likely finish 2nd, but they didn’t look nearly as good as Japan in podium training. HOWEVER, China often takes it very easy in Podium and even the qualification round, saving their best for when medals are on the line.

  • Jordan Carroll, Canada, looking good & confident on Pommels. CAN is without William Γ‰mard this time.
  • Rhys McClenaghan looks very serious. He’s changed up his Pommel routine since Europeans, striving for a 9.3 E-score.
  • Count on Eleftherios Petrounias, now age-35, to qualify to the Rings final.
  • only 3 Russian male gymnasts got visas in time for Podium. Kensley interviewed them.
  • Ukraine and Putin’s dictatorship are both in the 2nd sub-rotation
  • Scott Bregman announced Gymnastipedia, an online tool for evaluating WAG routines
  • could Colombia qualify top 8 for the Team Final? Ángel Barajas looks fantastic on H Bar. They did more full routines than most teams.
  • Subdivision 4 of 6 is fantastic. JPN, GBR, USA, Australia, Kovtun.
  • new Senior Danila Leykin at least twice connected Pegan to Koman on H Bar
  • GBR insane difficulty on Floor. The top team on that apparatus.
  • Kam Nelson (from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) is making tumbling look easy. Triple tuck – no problem. He did an even better Triple Pike.
  • Jake looked good. We haven’t seen him much this year.

Read International Gymnast magazine – Subdivisions 5 and 6: Men’s podium training wraps up in Rotterdam

Read World Gymnastics – Notes, quotes and anecdotes: World Championships Men’s Podium Training edition

Fusuke Maeda & Danila Leykin – H Bar

Many are looking forward to seeing Danila Leykin, age-19, at World Championships ’26 Rotterdam.

Dani is most looking forward to rotating with Japan in prelims β€”Β Fusuke Maeda, age-26, in particular. He scored 15.633 on H Bar at 2026 NHK Trophy.

Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.

Neutral Deductions posted an interview with Dani.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Paris Challenge Cup RESULTS

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Lisa Vaelen, Belgium, 13.666
πŸ₯ˆ Izzy Stassi, United States, 13.350
πŸ₯‰ Christine Kubon, Norway, 13.316

Bars

πŸ₯‡ Elena Colas, France, 14.300
πŸ₯ˆ Emelie Westlund, Sweden, 14.266
πŸ₯‰ Sofia Shtykhetskaya, Belarus, 14.100

Beam

πŸ₯‡ Naomi Descamps, Belgium, 13.066
πŸ₯ˆ Diana Lobok, Ukraine, 13.033
πŸ₯‰ Varvara Belova, Russia, 12.300

Floor

πŸ₯‡ MaΓ―ana Prat, France, 13.766
πŸ₯ˆ Izzy Stassi, United States, 13.466
πŸ₯‰ Emelie Westlund, Sweden, 13.166

Floor

πŸ₯‡ Artem Dolgopyat, Israel, 14.500
πŸ₯ˆ Anze Hribar, Slovenia, 14.233
πŸ₯‰ Tommaso Brugnami, Italy, 13.800

Pommel

πŸ₯‡ Hamlet Manukyan, Armenia, 15.200
πŸ₯ˆ Gabriele Targhetta, Italy, 15.000
πŸ₯‰ Brandon Dang, United States, 14.700

Rings

πŸ₯‡ Ilya Zaika, Russia, 14.566
πŸ₯ˆ Artur Avetisyan, Armenia, 14.533
πŸ₯‰ Nikita Simonov, Azerbaijan, 14.133

New IMPOSSIBLE skill for the Russian Rings specialist.

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Nazar Chepurnyi, Ukraine, 14.400
πŸ₯ˆ Yahor Sharamkou, Belarus, 14.199
πŸ₯‰ Tommaso Brugnami, Italy, 13.966

P Bars

πŸ₯‡ Ferhat Arican, TΓΌrkiye, 14.633
πŸ₯ˆ Nazar Chepurnyi, Ukraine, 14.466
πŸ₯‰ Crew Bold, United States, 14.333

H Bar

πŸ₯‡ Cooper Kim, United States, 14.566
πŸ₯ˆ Carlo Macchini, Italy, 14.500
πŸ₯‰ Lorenzo Aymes, France, 14.033

Asian Games Apparatus Finals

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Yeo Seojeong, South Korea, 14.483
πŸ₯ˆ An Chang Ok, North Korea, 13.666
πŸ₯‰ Du Siyu, China, 13.450

Bars

πŸ₯‡ Qiu Qiyuan, China, 15.100
πŸ₯ˆ Nishiyama Misa, Japan, 14.433
πŸ₯‰ Zhang Qingying, China, 14.233

Beam

πŸ₯‡ Hwang Seohyun, South Korea, 14.700
πŸ₯ˆ Qiu Qiyuan, China, 14.566
πŸ₯‰ Okamura Mana, Japan, 14.300

Floor

πŸ₯‡ Sugihara Aiko, Japan, 14.033
πŸ₯ˆ Nishiyama Misa, Japan, 13.900
πŸ₯‰ Zhang Yihan, China, 13.566

Floor

πŸ₯‡ Carlos Yulo, Philippines, 14.666
πŸ₯ˆ Milad Karimi, Kazakhstan, 14.600
πŸ₯‰ Tsukiyama Shoma, Japan, 14.566

Pommels

πŸ₯‡ Utkirbek Juraev, Uzbekistan, 14.733
πŸ₯ˆ Arman Khodaei Valehzaghard, Iran, 14.566
πŸ₯‰ Hashimoto Daiki, Japan, 14.500

Rings

πŸ₯‡ Lan Xingyu, China, 14.933
πŸ₯ˆ Kaneta Kiichi, Japan, 14.733
πŸ₯‰ Zou Jingyuan, China, 14.600

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Carlos Yulo, Philippines, 14.599
πŸ₯ˆ Mahdi Olfati, Iran, 14.533
πŸ₯‰ Ng Ka Ki, Hong Kong, 14.116

P Bars

πŸ₯‡ Zou Jingyuan, China, 15.500
πŸ₯ˆ Oka Shinnosuke, Japan, 14.500
πŸ₯‰ Rasuljon Abdurakhimov, Uzbekistan, 14.433

H Bar

πŸ₯‡ Tian Hao, China, 14.700
πŸ₯ˆ Oka Shinnosuke, Japan, 14.033
πŸ₯‰ Eldrew Yulo, Philippines, 13.666

Szombathely Challenge Cup RESULTS

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Greta Mayer, Hungary, 13.516
πŸ₯ˆ Emily Roper, Great Britain, 13.483
πŸ₯‰ Patricie Makovickova, Czechia, 13.033

Bars

πŸ₯‡ Flavia Saraiva, Brazil, 13.366
πŸ₯ˆ Tatum Drusch, United States, 13.300
πŸ₯‰ Barbora KundrΓ‘t, Slovakia, 13.233

Beam

πŸ₯‡ Flavia Saraiva, Brazil, 13.766
πŸ₯ˆ Rebeca Andrade, Brazil, 13.600
πŸ₯‰ Emily Roper, Great Britain, 12.866

Floor

πŸ₯‡ Dulcy Caylor, United States, 13.466
πŸ₯ˆ Flavia Saraiva, Brazil, 13.433
πŸ₯‰ Lorrane Oliveira, Brazil, 12.933

Floor

πŸ₯‡ Aurel Benovic, Croatia, 14.166
πŸ₯ˆ Dimitar Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 13.966
πŸ₯‰ Martin Miggitsch, Austria, 13.833

Pommels

πŸ₯‡ Zeinolla Idrissov, Kazakhstan, 14.766
πŸ₯ˆ Mateo Zugec, Croatia, 14.300
πŸ₯‰ Dagur Olafsson, Iceland, 14.233

Rings

πŸ₯‡ Stasis Butrimas, Ukraine, 13.633
πŸ₯ˆ Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 13.233
πŸ₯‰ Elias Koski, Finland, 13.166

Vault

πŸ₯‡ Daniel Trifonov, Bulgaria, 14.016
πŸ₯ˆ Ondrej Kalny, Czechia, 13.899
πŸ₯‰ Jonas Danek, Czechia, 13.799

P Bars

πŸ₯‡ Yordan Aleksandrov, Bulgaria, 13.633
πŸ₯ˆ Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 13.433
πŸ₯‰ Quentin Brandenburger, Luxembourg, 13.366

H Bar

πŸ₯‡ Arthur Mariano, Brazil, 14.133
πŸ₯ˆ Tomas Kalinic, Czechia, 13.300
πŸ₯‰ Kacper Garnczarek, Poland, 12.833

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