ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – The 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are officially underway at Rotterdam Ahoy.

After a full day of qualifying competition, it can be hard to sort through the sheer number of routines and headlines. Here are the top five things to know heading into Day 2.

Live updates: Men’s qualifying at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

1. Mariano crashes Def, needs stitches

Brazil’s Arthur Mariano – the 2019 world high bar champion – hit his face on the high bar during his Def in the second rotation, resulting in a scary fall. Mariano was fine, but he was seen with a full head bandage shortly after. He ended up scratching the remainder of his events and had to get stitches.

2. Rivera out, Caylor in

Team USA’s Hezly Rivera will have to wait at least another year for her world debut. After dealing with what she told us was “left ankle pain” and being limited mostly to bars and beam in podium training, it was announced Saturday that Rivera has medically withdrawn from the meet. Alternate Dulcy Caylor will replace the Olympic gold medalist. The U.S. is also down to five athletes as there are no plans to fly in non-traveling alternate Jade Carey.

3. Crashes from two of the top high bar workers

Japan will likely have two high bar workers in the final, but it won’t be the two who were initially the favorites to contend for gold. Tokyo Olympic high bar champion and 2023 world high bar champion Daiki Hashimoto and Fusuke Maeda both fell, with the latter making it through his piked Pegan and Cassina to Kolman but faltering on the Tak half to Def. Shohei Kawakami (14.600) and Shinnosuke Oka (14.500) are currently first and third, respectively, in the event standings and expected to make the final.

4. The day’s winner and loser

Until team final is over, it’s about the we, not me, in Ahoy. While some teams are looking to earn an Olympic quota spot by finishing top three in the final, just making the final would be a triumph for others. The Dutch men exceeded expectations during qualifying, earning a 242.995 and currently sit fifth. While there are still strong teams to come – and only eight make the final – it was a joyous occasion for all in attendance to watch the home athletes meet the moment.

On the flip side, the U.S. men had one of their worst showings in years. After a lights out vault rotation to start, they suffered multiple falls across parallel bars, floor, and pommel horse. Not to mention other major mistakes. It’s not the end of the line like their 2022 collapse in the world team final, but there is no more time for mistakes. The 2023 world bronze medalists and 2024 Olympic bronze medalists lost at least 6 points in falls alone on Saturday and still currently sit fourth. They’ll need to channel their flawless team final performance from Paris if they want to make it onto the podium here.

5. Quote of the day: ‘Gotta squeeze my butt’

After a 14.666 on pommel horse, Patrick Hoopes (USA) had a laundry list of corrections for his one and only routine heading into team final and, likely, the event final.

“Gotta squeeze my butt” was the first of a handful of pain points. “… I’ve got some stuff to fix these next couple days,” Hoopes laughed while also saying this was “exactly what he wanted from today.”

For a full rundown of men’s qualifying, check out our live updates from the arena. We’ll have more coverage from Ahoy on Sunday with the conclusion of men’s qualifying and the start of women’s qualifying.