Louisville Loading! Who To Watch At The 2026 Winter Cup

Who We’re Watching!

FOR THE WOMEN

Hezly Rivera

At just 17 years-old, Hezly Rivera has already had major success in her young gymnastics career, winning Olympic gold with Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After a slower start to her season in 2025, Rivera returned better than ever by the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships where she dominated, winning the All-Around title and taking gold on bars, beam, and floor. An untimely injury unfortunately took her out of the 2025 World Championships, but we have a feeling Rivera will once again demonstrate excellence in 2026.  The big question for Rivera in Louisville is whether she’ll compete all four events.

Charleigh Bullock 

After a successful junior career, Charleigh Bullock is ready for her much-anticipated senior debut. At the 2025 Junior Pan American Games, she won gold with the team, in the All-Around, and on bars, beam, and floor. Following the success at Pan American Games, she captured a bronze medal with Team USA at Junior Worlds. She brings art and difficulty on uneven bars, as well as unique and dramatic choreography on floor.

Simone Rose

After finishing tenth in the All-Around at the Xfinity U.S. Championships in 2024, Simone Rose qualified for her first Olympic Trials. In 2025, she finished fifth in the All-Around at Championships, and qualified for her third Senior National Team. Rose is committed to The University of Florida, and she’s been working on major upgrades, including a different vault entry, new bar connections, and more! Rose always brings her signature personality and performance quality in her floor routines, which always leaves us with a smile.

Reese Esponda

The Trickster! Reese Esponda is known for her massive skills, especially on floor exercise. In the off-season, she’s worked on a new tumbling pass that could one day be named “The Esponda.” Esponda committed to LSU in September, and while injuries kept her from being in her peak form in 2025, she’s had the time to upgrade and refine her routines in the fall and is ready to make some noise in 2026.

Claire Pease

Cool, Calm, Consistent. Another athlete who took 2025 by storm, Claire Pease won the U.S. Classic All-Around title in 2025 and finished in the top 10 at the Xfinity U.S. Championships. An unfortunate injury took her out of competing for a spot in the World Championships, and we’re so excited to see her back on the competition floor in Louisville. Pease brings exquisite lines on beam that remind many fans of Olympic Champion, Nastia Liukin. She also showcases fire in every competition she enters. With the end of her 2025 season presumably not going as planned, be on the lookout for Pease on every event in 2026.

Gabrielle Hardie

Execution is the name of the game for Gabrielle Hardie. Hardie impressed the gymnastics world at the 2025 Pan American Championships, where she took home three medals in her first senior international competition, including gold with the team and on bars, and a bronze on floor. She finished seventh at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships and fourth on floor exercise, where she earned massive execution scores on floor, including an 8.550 on day 1 and an 8.600 on day 2, the highest of any competitor. Hardie definitely made a name for herself on the senior scene in 2025, and is ready to bring the upgrades across every event, including new releases on bars and more challenging tumbling passes on floor. With a solid competition, look for Hardie to make a run for the All-Around title in Louisville.

Izzy Stassi

Izzy Stassi was a star as a junior. In 2023, she competed at the Junior World Championships and helped Team USA win a silver medal. Stassi made her senior debut in 2024, but an injury limited her and kept her from qualifying for the U.S. National Championships. At the 2025 American Classic in June, she finished second in the All-Around while winning vault and floor. A fall off bars in warm ups at U.S. Classic kept her out of the competition as a precaution, but Stassi was ready to go in New Orleans at the Xfinity U.S. Championships where she placed third on vault. A University of Oklahoma commit, Stassi could surprise everyone in Louisville and make a run for the podium.

Caroline Moreau  

2025 U.S. Junior All-Around Champion, Caroline Moreau, is ready to make a name for herself and join the senior ranks at Winter Cup! In addition to taking the All-Around title in New Orleans, Moreau also won floor and placed second on vault, bars, and beam in the junior division. At the 2025 Junior World Championships, in Manila, Philippines, Moreau won bronze with the team, as well as on bars and beam. Look for her power on floor and consistency across all events.

FOR THE MEN

Frederick Richard 

The Olympic Medalist. A seasoned pro and a history-making 2024 Olympic team bronze medalist, Frederick Richard rallied at the 2025 NCAA Championships, where he helped lead his Michigan Wolverines to the 2025 NCAA title at home, after a slow start to his season. Richard finished runner-up to Asher Hong (who is not on the Winter Cup roster) at the 2025 U.S. Championships but was left off the World team in favor of athletes who could potentially put up higher scores on individual events, which, no doubt, is already fueling a huge 2026 for Richard. Winter Cup is the first stop, and his to take the title if he can put up six great routines.

Riley Loos

The Defending Winter Cup Champ. As a three-time NCAA team champion (2021-23), two-time MPSF team champion (2022-23), 2022 NCAA Champion on rings, 2023 Nissen-Emery Award Finalist and seven-time NCAA All-American (2020: All-Around, rings; 2021: floor, high bar, rings; 2022: floor, rings), Riley Loos was instrumental to the success of the Stanford Cardinal. Now, he’s working his way up the men’s national and international scene. He took third at Winter Cup in 2024, possibly surprising everyone but himself, and was part of the gold-medal effort at the DTB Pokal Mixed Cup. In 2025, Loos notched a two-day All-Around score of 160.850 to be crowned Winter Cup Champion. Strong on rings and across the All-Around, Loos is back on the floor healthy after injuries—he tore his rotator cuff in Stuttgart—and cannot be counted out in Louisville.

Fuzzy Benas

Fuzzy Benas had a breakout year in 2024, finishing sixth in the All-Around at the Olympic Trials. Building off that momentum, Benas won the bronze in the All-Around and on vault at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships, but was left off the World team. Now the question Benas needs to answer is if he can continue to compete consistently with the Olympic and World Championship veterans surrounding him and make some noise of his own. As an Oklahoma Sooner and a definite fan-favorite, with the right combination of difficulty and execution, Benas could land at the top of the podium in Louisville if he competes all six events.

Yul Moldauer

Let’s Gooooo!!! Fans have been waiting to see Yul Moldauer back out on the floor after missing the 2025 season due to a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Whereabouts violation. In January of this year, Moldauer returned to competition at the Rocky Mountain Open with huge anticipation, and he delivered, qualifying for Winter Cup and ready to make a run for LA 2028.  

Taking it back, 2020 Olympian Moldauer was an absolute picture of focus, fire, determination, and ready to fight after missing out on the 2022 World team. With his dream of a team medal finally fulfilled at the 2023 World Championships, Moldauer was on a roll in early 2024, winning the All-Around at Winter Cup and Pacific Rims, and leading the team to the top of the podium at both Pac Rims and the DTB Pokal Team Challenge. In Fort Worth at the 2024 U.S. Championships, Moldauer overcame a rocky day 1 to finish 4th in the All-Around. An inconsistent performance at the 2024 Olympic Trials ultimately kept him off the 2024 Olympic Team, and he’ll no doubt be ready in Louisville to make some noise and put his name right back into contention for Team USA. 

David Shamah

David Shamah burst onto the scene in 2022 when he won the Junior All-Around title at the U.S. Championships. Since then, Shamah has competed for Stanford, and we didn’t seen much of him on the Elite stage. Coming off an All-Around win at a 2025 U.S. Championships qualifier, Shamah placed 9th in the All-Around at the U.S. Championships in New Orleans. This season for Stanford, he’s been on a mission and is currently ranked 4th in the country in the All-Around. Shamah could become a rising star in the LA quad if things go his way in 2026, and Louisville will be the perfect place to start.

See our spotlight on David Shamah here!

Shane Wiskus

2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus has something to prove in 2026. After being left off the World team in 2022 and 2023, named an Olympic alternate in 2024, and injured in 2025, his 2026 season is all about a new start and redemption. To kick off his season in 2024, Wiskus had a great showing at Winter Cup and the DTB Pokal Team Challenge. On day 2 in Fort Worth at the U.S. Championships, he was solid throughout, putting forth a tremendous effort. Olympic year pressure is like no other, and Wiskus was undoubtedly hungry for his second trip to the Games, but it was not to be this time. Because of everything he’s been through, paired with his determination to fight for LA 2028, “the Shane Wiskus comeback tour” is back in full force. A strong showing at Winter Cup to start his season, paired with an even better effort at Championships later this year, could be just the extra fuel he needs to be back in contention for a second Olympic team.

See our spotlight on Shane Wiskus here!

Taylor Christopulos

A strong veteran ready to make his move on the National and international scene, Taylor Christopulos remains very much on our radar in 2026 as the season gets underway. He’s sharp, clean and consistent across the board, which translates into his competition results. A member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2025 Pan American Championships and a finalist on floor and rings, Christopulous was named B1G Gymnast of the Year, following a vote of the league’s head coaches, in his senior year as a Nebraska Husker. At the 2025 NCAA Championships, he won the 2025 Nissen-Emery Award — the “Heisman” of Men’s Gymnastics. Christopolus also finished 3rd in the All-Around at the 2025 Winter Cup and looks forward to being back in Louisville to make a strong showing this year. If he’s healthy, he could be right there to challenge for the title.