Yul Moldauer

Yul Moldauer
Moldauer in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Yul Kyung-Tae Moldauer
Country represented	United States
Born	(1996-08-26) August 26, 1996 (age 27) Seoul, South Korea
Hometown	Arvada, Colorado
Residence	Denver, Colorado
Training location	University of Oklahoma
Height	1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior Elite
Years on national team	2015–present (USA)
Gym	5280 Gymnastics
College team	Oklahoma Sooners (2016–19)
Head coach(es)	Vladimir Artemev
Assistant coach(es)	Alexander Artemev Irina Artemev
Former coach(es)	Mark Williams (OU)
Medal record Men's artistic gymnastics Representing   United States World Championships 2017 Montreal Floor Exercise 2023 Antwerp Team Pacific Rim Championships 2024 Cali Team 2024 Cali All-Around 2024 Cali Floor Exercise 2024 Cali Rings 2024 Cali Parallel Bars Pan American Championships 2022 Rio de Janeiro Team 2022 Rio de Janeiro Floor Exercise 2022 Rio de Janeiro Pommel Horse 2022 Rio de Janeiro Parallel Bars 2023 Medellín Team 2023 Medellín All-Around 2023 Medellín Floor Exercise 2023 Medellín Parallel Bars 2022 Rio de Janeiro All-Around 2023 Medellín Horizontal Bar 2023 Medellín Pommel Horse FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 3 0 0 Total 3 0 0 Representing Oklahoma Sooners NCAA Championships Event 1st 2nd 3rd Team 3 1 0 All-Around 2 1 0 Floor Exercise 2 0 1 Pommel Horse 0 1 1 Rings 1 2 0 Vault 1 0 0 Parallel Bars 1 1 1 Horizontal Bar 0 0 1 Total 10 6 4

Yul Kyung-Tae Moldauer (born August 26, 1996) is an American artistic gymnast. He is the 2017 U.S. national all-around champion and the 2017 World bronze medalist on floor exercise. ^[1] He represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics ^[2] and was a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 2023 World Championships.

Early life and education

Moldauer was born in Seoul, South Korea on August 16, 1996, and named Kyung-Tae. ^[3] Before he was a year old, Peter Moldauer adopted him and named him Yul after the actor Yul Brynner. ^{[3] [4] [5]} Because his biological mother was chemically dependent, his adoptive father was told he might not develop into a "productive adult." ^[3]

Moldauer has three siblings, Leah, Sorcha and Sundo. He grew up on a farm in Colorado and attended Golden High School.

At age seven, Moldauer joined a local gym offering a free tryout, and at age ten, he joined 5280 Gymnastics, where he was coached by the Artemev family (Vladimir, Irina, and Alexander Artemev). ^[3] In the next few years, he started winning state and regional meets, and eventually won a place on the Junior National Team. ^{[6] [7]} He was a member of the gymnastics team at the University of Oklahoma where he graduated in May 2020 with a degree in communications. ^[8]

Moldauer has received two awards. In 2018, USA Gymnastics named him the 2018 Male Athlete of the Year. ^[3] In April 2019, he was presented with the Nissen Emery Award, an annual prize given to the top male gymnast in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. ^[3]

Junior career

In 2014, Moldauer won the junior title on the pommel horse at the U.S. National Championships. ^[9] In 2015, he won the gold medal in the 18-year-old age division at the Junior Olympic National Championships. ^[10]

In 2016, Moldauer won his first NCAA all-around title. ^{[11] [12]}

Senior career

2017

Moldauer competed at the 2017 Winter Cup where he won gold in the all-around, rings and parallel bars, and silver on floor and vault. He competed at his first top level international competition in March at the 2017 American Cup in Newark, New Jersey, where he placed first ahead of Olympic gold and silver medalist Oleg Verniaiev. ^[13] Later that year, he became the NCAA champion on the floor exercise and rings, and placed second in the all-around and on parallel bars. In August, Moldauer won the all-around national title at the 2017 U.S. National Championships in Anaheim, California, and tied for the gold medal with Eddie Penev on floor exercise. ^[14]

Moldauer made his first World Championship appearance at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, Canada. He won the bronze medal in the floor exercise final and placed 7th in the all-around final. ^{[15] [16]}

2018

Moldauer won his second consecutive American Cup all-around title in March at the 2018 American Cup ahead of more accomplished gymnasts including Kenzō Shirai of Japan, the 2017 World all-around bronze medalist, thanks to Moldauer achieving a top three score on every apparatus. In August at the 2018 U.S. National Championships, he won the silver medal in the all-around behind Sam Mikulak.

In October, Moldauer competed at the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. He and the U.S. team finished fourth in the team competition. He went on to place 12th in the all-around final and fourth in the floor exercise final.

2019

Moldauer competed at the 2019 Winter Cup in Las Vegas, finishing first in the all-around. Moldauer won his third consecutive American Cup all-around title in March at the 2019 American Cup, just 0.001 of a point ahead of fellow American Sam Mikulak.

Moldauer suffered from right elbow pain and did not compete for six weeks. ^[3]

In August at the 2019 U.S. National Championships, he again won the silver medal in the all-around behind Sam Mikulak. Additionally, he won silver medals on floor exercise and parallel bars.

2020

Moldauer competed at the 2020 Winter Cup in Las Vegas, finishing first on vault, third on parallel bars, fourth on pommel horse and fifth all-around. Due to his results at the Winter Cup Challenge, he was named to the 2020 senior men's team. ^[17]

2021

Moldauer finished first on parallel bars, third all-around, third on floor, fourth on pommel horse and fifth on still rings at the 2021 Winter Cup Challenge in Indianapolis, Indiana. At 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas he finished first on parallel bars, second all-around and third on floor and still rings. ^[18] Moldauer was named to the 2020 Olympic team alongside Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak, and Shane Wiskus. ^[19] He secured his spot on the team by finishing second in the all-around and finishing in top three on at least three apparatuses at the 2020 Olympic Trials in St. Louis, Missouri. ^[2]

In November Moldauer competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial. He won the four-event all-around, beating Nikita Nagornyy in the tie-breaker. ^[20]

2022

Moldauer competed at the 2022 Winter Cup where he placed fourth in the all-around behind Vitaliy Guimaraes, Khoi Young, and Asher Hong. ^[21] As a result he was selected to represent the USA at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge in Stuttgart alongside Guimaraes, Young, Hong, and Brody Malone. ^[22]

In June Moldauer was selected to represent the United States at the Pan American Championships alongside Riley Loos, Brody Malone, Colt Walker, and Shane Wiskus. ^[23] On the first day of competition Moldauer competed on all six events to help qualify the United States in first place to the team final. Individually he won silver in the all-around behind Caio Souza of Brazil but won gold on floor exercise, pommel horse, and parallel bars. ^[24] During the team final Moldauer competed on floor, pommel horse, rings, and parallel bars to help the USA win gold ahead of the reigning team champion Brazil. ^[25]

In August Moldauer competed at the U.S. National Championships. He finished fifth in the all-around but recorded the third highest score when removing domestic bonuses. Additionally he finished third on pommel horse. ^[26] In October Moldauer was named as the traveling alternate for the World Championships team. ^[27]

2023

Moldauer won the 2023 Winter Cup in February. He was later selected to represent the United States at the Pan American Championships alongside Shane Wiskus, Curran Phillips, Khoi Young, and Taylor Christopulos. On the first day of competition Moldauer helped the USA qualify for the team final. Individually he won gold in the all-around, on floor exercise, and on parallel bars, won silver on horizontal bar, and won bronze on pommel horse. Moldauer became the first American male gymnast to win the all-around title at the Pan American Gymnastics Championships. On the final day of competition Moldauer helped the USA win their second consecutive team title. ^[28]

In August Moldauer competed at the Core Hydration Classic where he placed fifth on parallel bars. ^[29] He next competed at the Xfinity National Championships where he placed fifth in the all-around but the national title on parallel bars. ^[30] The following day he was named to the team to compete at the upcoming World Championships alongside Asher Hong, Khoi Young, Fred Richard, Paul Juda, and alternate Colt Walker. ^[31]

At the World Championships Moldauer helped the USA qualify to the team final in second place. Individually he qualified to the parallel bars final. During the team final he contributed scores on floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, and parallel bars toward the USA's third place finish. In doing so, Moldauer won his second World Championships medal and helped the USA win their first team medal in nine years. ^[32]

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	FX	PH	SR	VT	PB	HB
2015	Winter Cup		17	14	17	22	20	16	29
	U.S. National Championships		12	14	6	24	23	6	18
2016	Winter Cup		5	7	14	4	9		27
	NCAA Championships						10
	U.S. National Championships		5	5	8	7	13	12	15
	Olympic Trials		5	5	6	8	5	7	14
2017	Winter Cup				11				12
	American Cup
	NCAA Championships						4
	Guimaraes International
	U.S. National Championships				8	5	6		13
	World Championships	—	7
2018	Winter Cup				7
	American Cup
	NCAA Championships
	U.S. Championships				7				11
	World team trials
	World Championships	4	12	4
2019	Winter Cup				4
	American Cup
	NCAA Championships		6	38			13	27	39
	U.S. National Championships				6	9	5		10
	World team trials		5
	World Championships	4	16
2020	Winter Cup		5	11	4	5			15
	Friendship & Solidarity Meet
2021	Winter Cup				4	5	16		12
	U.S. National Championships				14		9		14
	Olympic Trials						9		13
	Olympic Games	5		6
	World Team Trials				4
	World Championships	—	4					5
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup	DNS
2022	Winter Cup		4	13			20		21
	DTB Pokal Team Challenge
	Pan American Championships					9
	U.S. Classic			19				5	34
	U.S. National Championships		5	7		4	9	7	17
	World Championships	5 [lower-alpha 1]
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
2023	Winter Cup
	DTB Pokal Team Challenge
	Pan American Championships					4
	U.S. Classic				28			5	40
	U.S. National Championships		5	23		4			34
	World Championships							8
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
2024	Winter Cup				7	4			12
	DTB Pokal Team Challenge				4
	Pacific Rim Championships								5
	U.S. National Championships		4		12	8			11
	Olympic Trials

1. Moldauer was the team USA alternate

References

1. "USA Gymnastics | Yul Moldauer". usagym.org. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
2. "Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Brody Malone highlight U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
3. "Artistic Gymnastics MOLDAUER Yul". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
4. Zaccardi, Nick (August 18, 2017). "Who will make U.S. men's gymnastics team for worlds?". NBC Sports.
5. "Yul Moldauer". International Gymnast: 33. April 2017.
6. "StickItMedia Exclusive Interview: Yul Moldauer". StickItMedia. July 27, 2010.
7. Meyer, John (July 18, 2011). "It's health first now for Olympic medalist Artemev". The Denver Post.
8. "Yul Moldauer". Sooner Sports.
9. Normile, Dwight (August 24, 2014). "Watts, Burke Win U.S. Junior Men's Titles". International Gymnast Magazine.
10. "Level 10 champions crowned at Men's Junior Olympic Championships". Gymnastic News Network.
11. Kersey, Jason (April 22, 2016). "OU men's gymnastics: For Sooners' Yul Moldauer, team's success brings individual success". News OK.
12. "Men's gymnastics: Oklahoma repeats as national champions". NCAA. April 17, 2016.
13. "2017 AT&T American Cup" (PDF). March 3, 2017.
14. Ponsi, Lou (August 19, 2017). "Yul Moldauer takes all-around title at the P&G Gymnastics Championships". Orange County Register.
15. "OU junior Yul Moldauer takes bronze in floor exercise at World Championships". Tulsa World. October 7, 2017.
16. "Moldauer finishes seventh in all-around". Sooner Sports. October 5, 2017.
17. "Mikulak wins four event medals, Benas claims Junior All-Around Title at 2020 Winter Cup Challenge". USA Gymnastics. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
18. "USA Gymnastics | Yul Moldauer". usagym.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
19. "USA Gymnastics announces men's Olympic team roster for artistic gymnastics". USA Gymnastics . June 26, 2021.
20. "Angelina Melnikova continues golden 2021 with victory in Morges". International Olympic Committee . November 4, 2021.
21. "Guimaraes takes men's senior all-around title at 2022 Winter Cup Presented by OZONE and TURN; five gymnasts automatically qualify to National Team". USA Gymnastics . February 26, 2022.
22. "U.S. men announce lineups for upcoming FIG Apparatus World Cup in Egypt, DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup in Germany". USA Gymnastics . March 8, 2022.
23. "Three Olympians will lead U.S. men at Pan American Championships July 15–17". USA Gymnastics . June 7, 2022.
24. "U.S. seniors earn 14 medals, including five gold, on second day of Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics . July 15, 2022.
25. "U.S. senior men win team title, women capture silver as Pan American Championships end". USA Gymnastics . July 17, 2022.
26. "Malone repeats as all-around champion at 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics . August 21, 2022.
27. "U.S. men's program sending mix of World medalists, rising stars to 2022 Artistic World Championships". USA Gymnastics . October 5, 2022.
28. "U.S. claims men's and women's team titles at Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics . May 28, 2023.
29. "Hong brothers crowned as junior and senior men's all-around champions at Core Hydration Classic". USA Gymnastics . August 6, 2023.
30. "Hong rallies for U.S. men's title at Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics . August 27, 2023.
31. "U.S. Senior Men's teams named for 2023 Artistic World Championships, Pan American Games". USA Gymnastics . August 27, 2023.
32. "U.S. men claim team bronze at World Championships". USA Gymnastics . October 3, 2023.

External links

• Yul Moldauer at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Yul Moldauer at USA Gymnastics
• Yul Moldauer at Olympics.com
• Yul Moldauer at Olympedia
• Yul Moldauer at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (archived)