Team China clinches 2026 American Cup title; USA earns silver

In a night of see-saw competition and high drama, Team China emerged victorious ahead of Team USA and Team Japan Saturday to win the team gold medal at the 2026 American Cup at Lee’s Family Forum.

HENDERSON, Nevada (March 7, 2026) – In a night of see-saw competition and high drama, Team China emerged victorious ahead of Team USA and Team Japan Saturday to win the team gold medal at the 2026 American Cup at Lee’s Family Forum.

China secured the title with a dominating third round, putting up a 57.250 to win gold ahead of Team USA in second (54.700) and Team Japan in third (54.100). The Chinese were led by a huge 14.800 on horizontal bar from Li Hongyan (Sichuan, China) and a pair of 14.450s on uneven bars and parallel bars from Tian Zhoufan (Hunan, China) and Xie Chenyi (Anhui, China), respectively. It was a return to the top for China, who had led Round 1 with a 54.500 but was second behind Japan in Round 2 with a 52.650 before taking the title in Round 3. Team scores were reset to zero after each round, making every round a stand-alone competition in itself.

Team USA secured the team silver medal with a 54.700 in Round 3 by saving its best round for last after sitting in third the first two rounds. In the medal round, Olympic medalists Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas) and Hezly Rivera (Oradell, N.J.) had statement performances on floor to lead the USA. Hong scored a 14.100 and Rivera a 13.600 to kick off the first half of the round, with Rivera’s performance among the best of her career. In the second half of the round, Danila Leykin (Sarasota, Fla.) put up a 13.150 on high bar followed by Claire Pease (Sunnyvale, Texas) closing out the competition on bars, where she secured the team silver with her 13.850. First-year seniors Leykin and Charleigh Bullock (Spotsylvania, Va.) accounted for two of the three highest scores from the U.S. delegation on the evening as Bullock notched a 14.100 on uneven bars in Round 2, while Leykin’s 14.000 helped Team USA out of Round 1.

Team Japan rounded out the podium with a 54.100 in the final, aided by a 14.950 on high bar from Olympic champion Hashimoto Daiki (Chiba, Japan), the highest score on any apparatus during the competition. Tsunogai Tomoharu (Aichi, Japan) was an integral part of the team’s success, scoring big on high bar (14.900) and parallel bars (14.400) during the evening’s competition.

Team Spain ranked fourth in American Cup competition as the final medal round team finisher with a 47.900, seeing top scores for their team from Nicolau Mir (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) with a 13.950 and Marina Escudero (Barcelona, Spain) with a 13.000, both on floor.

The competition got off to a raucous start with all eight countries competing in Round 1. Team Brazil and Team Philippines exited the competition after the round, with Brazil finishing seventh with a 49.750 and the Philippines eighth with a 45.250. Vitaliy Guimaraes (Dallas, Texas) was the top scorer for Brazil, scoring a 13.300 on floor, while Zachary Nunez (Houston, Texas) was best on parallel bars for Team Philippines, scoring a 12.550.

Round 2 closed out competition for Great Britain and Mexico as Team GB placed fifth with a 49.750 and Team Mexico sixth with a 47.950. Sol Scott (Huntingdon, England) had the best score among the British men with a 13.450 on high bar, and Ruby Stacey (Tavistock, England) was the top women’s scorer with a 13.200 on bars as the final routine in Round 1, securing the second-round berth for her team. Isaac Nunez (Ensenada, Mexico) was the No. 1 Mexican athlete, posting scores over 13.000 on parallel bars (13.350) and floor (13.050).