At the Olympic Trials in 2024, Tokyo Olympian Shane Wiskus had the audience in the palm of his hands through each skill he performed. The trials were held in Wiskus’ home state of Minnesota. The crowd roared for each routine he perfected as he executed skill after skill with ease. He had one of the greatest competitions of his career at the Paris Olympic Trials, hitting 12 for 12 and finishing third in the All-Around, and winning the second day of competition. Wiskus appeared invincible. 

“I felt like I was unstoppable,” Wiskus said. “The level of fitness that I had, the proficiency over my gymnastics and each apparatus that I was competing in, my consistency, my mentality, my confidence, it’s just never been higher. You take that and you throw out a 12 for 12 performance at Olympic Trials in front of a home crowd, in front of 18,000 people. It just amplifies all of that. I felt like a superhero those few days, and no matter what happens with the rest of my career, I’ll cherish that moment for the rest of my life.”

Despite his incredible performance, he narrowly missed making his second Olympic team and was named a traveling alternate. Wiskus had long talked about finishing his career in 2024 after the Paris Olympics. Prior to trials, he constantly mentioned how it would be his last time training in his gym and his last week training.

 “I was pretty dead set on retiring after Paris,” Wiskus said. “I’ve been talking about it all year, how this is my final push, and we’d have our last hard week in the gym before Olympic Trials. I would be like ‘Oh, it’s my last hard week ever. The last time I compete a bar routine.”

 However, after spending time on the GOAT Tour with Simone Biles, he realized that he had more to give to the sport. Performing in front of a crowd and putting on a show helped him rediscover his love for gymnastics and understand that he had more potential. 

“I haven’t really had fun with the sport in a while,” Wiskus said. “Getting to put on a show for people, as opposed to competing for a spot on the Olympic team.” 

After the tour wrapped, he decided to have a surgery on a nagging injury with the goal of returning to competition in 2026. Wiskus is an athlete with no shortage of success. He is a Tokyo Olympian from 2021, multiple time national medalist, but a renewed perspective finds him eager to return to competition. 

“I think just my whole perspective on competitive gymnastics has shifted a little bit,” Wiskus said. “It’s not like I have this burning desire to win an Olympic medal and accomplish 25 more things before I’m done, I’m satisfied with my career. But there’s that part of me that’s like, I have more potential. I can be a better gymnast than I was before.”

Originally Wiskus intended on taking his return to the sport year-by-year. But with the LA Olympics just two years away, many wondered if Wiskus would add to the already extremely talented crop of U.S. men vying for a spot on the Olympic team. With his return to competition set, there is no doubt you can see Wiskus on the path for another Olympic team. 

“Mentally, I’m pretty committed to LA,” Wiskus said. “I feel like it’s only two years away. I’m just getting back into it, two more years of grinding and pushing through those tough days in the gym. Two years goes by so quick, especially when you’re 27 years-old, it’s increasingly less and less of a percentage of your life.  I know just from experience, that two years goes by in a flash. So I feel pretty confident that I’m committing to the rest of the quadrennium.”