October 25, 2025
He became the oldest American man to win a world title by doing so at 31 years and 61 days.
Gymnast Donnell Whittenburg won a gold medal on still rings, becoming the first American man to do so at the World Championships.
According to USA Gymnastics, the 31-year-old performed the honors Oct. 24 at the 2025 FIG Artistic World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also achieved another accomplishment. The gymnast became the oldest American man to win a world title by doing so at 31 years and 61 days. He surpassed a record held by Kurt Thomas, who won two gold medals at 23 years and 254 days old in 1979.
In his record-setting feat, Whittenburg won the title on rings with a 14.700 to win a World gold medal on the apparatus. He bested Adem Asil of Turkey, who came in second place with 14.566, and Xingyu Lan of China, whose 14.500 score placed him in third place. Whittenburg’s gold medal win on rings is his first Worlds win of his career, while making this his third World medal. The last time he won a medal was 10 years ago in 2015, when he took home a bronze medal on vault.
With the gold medal, he joins Brandon Wynn, who won a bronze medal in 2013, and Paul O’Neill, who brought the silver medal home in 1994, as the only Americans to have medaled on rings. He took over O’Neill’s place (28 years and 354 days) as the oldest U.S. medalist in World Championships history.
Whittenburg has a chance to bring another win home when he competes Oct. 25 on the parallel bars as the 2025 FIG Artistic World Championships ends in Jakarta.
Other American athletes who are bringing home medals include Leanne Wong, Patrick Hoopes, and Joscelyn Roberson. Wong won the silver medal for women’s all-around, while Hoopes took the bronze medal in the pommel horse, and Roberson is taking home her bronze medal in women’s vault.
NBC Sports reported that during his competition, he performed a move named after him, the “Whittenburg” dismount (a triple pike back somersault). This was named after him because he was the first gymnast to perform it internationally in 2017.
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