The EVO Effect 

One of Nelson’s goals coming into 2026 was to start competing in more events than just vault and floor. After qualifying to worlds, he took a break from training rings as he knew he likely would not compete in the event in Jakarta. He began training on the apparatus again in November and EVO coach Syque Caesar pushed him to immediately regain his most challenging skills. 

“I started going to rings, and we’re starting to work halves,” Nelson said. “Immediately, Syque’s like, ‘alright, we’re doing the hardest skills in a routine that you could do.’ I went from not doing rings to doing my hardest ring set now in my halves. That was a lot of work to get back into the physical aspect of being able to do rings, because I’ve only done floor and vault for two and a half months.” 

Nelson competed at the Cottbus World Cup in late February and showcased how successful his rings training was. His ultimate goal in Germany was to come home with a medal.

 “I told the guys before I left, Evo, I was like, ‘I’m coming home with a medal. If I don’t have a medal, you won’t see me,”

Nelson was off the podium on floor after a bouncy routine. He went into rings just wanting to have fun and deliver a strong routine. He was amped up from the crowd and did not feel any nerves while competing. He delivered a solid set and earned a 13.8, a seven tenth improvement from the 13.1 he scored in qualification. The score soared him towards a bronze medal, something he may not have been expecting when he entered the competition. 

“Going in the rings, I was like ‘I’m just gonna have fun,’ put it all out there and just try to hold everything for as long as I can, as well as I can, because if I fall, at least I tried going all out for it.”

Nelson has also added high bar back to his repertoire and hopes to show that he can also be competitive in that event as well. 

When arriving at EVO, Nelson was looking to be pushed in ways he had not in the past. He wanted the coaches to be strict and help him make simple presentation adjustments, such as making his hands look sharp, and overall improve the package of his gymnastics. 

“I’m not going to take it hard if you’re picking on me, I’m not going to take it that way,” Nelson told Caesar. “I want you to be really strict on that, because I don’t want to look like I’m just kind of going and tumbling and doing all these skills and I’m just doing it, like I’m not actually performing them.”

When Nelson was switching gyms, he searched for the struggle. If the long days training and conditioning are difficult, he reminds himself that this is what he wanted.

“I wanted exactly what I’m having right now,” he said. “I wanted it to be hard. I wanted to struggle through it, because I know in the end, that’s going to make me a better athlete.”

Walking into the gym everyday and being surrounded by the best gymnasts in the world is a simple way to find motivation. Every member of EVO has their own strengths, Nelson is able to look at teammates such as Donnell Whittenburg and Alex Diab to improve his skills on rings, and he is working extra hard to continue to be the best version of himself. 

“We’re all building off each other, which I think is really cool,” Nelson said. “I try to work harder than they do, just to try to catch up with them. I think that’s been really helpful. Everyone is kind of in that same mindset with that as well.”

His teammates also continue to support each other on those difficult days in the gym. Athletes like Danila Leykin and Josh Karnes keep the mood fun and lighthearted.

“If one of us is having a bad day, we’re good at joking around with everyone and being like, ‘come on. get back up. What are you doing? Like, you can’t have a bad day right now. Just keep going.”

He also loves watching Jackson Harrison train and continue to make upgrades, watching their progress has inspired Nelson. The two push each other as they spend time training floor exercise together. 

“​​I know if  they can do it I can learn a lot from them and make my pushes as well. So I talk a lot with Jackson, and we relate well. We relate a lot on a lot of outside gym stuff as well, just friends and experiences, since we’ve both been to college.”