Gymnast Sam Mikulak wins third consecutive U.S. title
INDIANAPOLIS — Sam Mikulak had no clue about his score in the U.S. Championship until he finished his routine on parallel bars. He didn’t know that his 4.35-point margin of victory wasn’t close to being touched until after that last event.
And while he was glad with the win — his third consecutive national title — the top American male gymnast couldn’t help but look at what he needed to improve.
He hadn’t executed as well as he wanted to in the first night of competition on Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Although he would go on to score 183.650 over the two-day event to become the first man to win three U.S. titles in a row since Paul Hamm in 2002-04, he knows the mistakes he made here will hurt him more against international competition.
Namely, a fall to start the meet on the high bar — an event that tripped up all of the top American men on Sunday —– was the cloud over an otherwise good day that saw Mikulak perform his best rings routine.
“You always gotta make sure you’re fighting for every tenth, no matter how big or small the lead is,” said Mikulak.
“I think everyone wants to have the meet of their life, but in the long scheme of things it’s not this competition that really matters. This is a test event, you could say, for world championships. We’ve got 10 weeks until worlds and whoever is going to be named on their specified events, it’s going to be very competitive.”
Mikulak and Donnell Whittenburg, who scored 179.300 to finish second, secured automatic spots on the team for the world championships in October. USA Gymnastics plans to name the rest of the six-man team, plus alternates, later Sunday, and faces a daunting test after several gymnasts struggled on high bar and pommel horse.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” Mikulak said of his margin of victory. “I’m pretty sure everyone felt like they could have had a better day. In the end, it’s all about how you feel compared to your standards.”
Mikulak led by 2.35 points coming into Sunday’s final day of competition, one that saw the entire top five entering the day snake bitten by the bar. Whittenburg, Paul Ruggeri, Jonathan Horton and Danell Leyva all fell off. Horton, Ruggeri and Leyva also struggled on pommel horse.
Veteran Chris Brooks caught some of those falls out of the corner of his eye and told himself to not get fancy. Staying on the bar would make a difference as he finished third with a score of 177.150.
The 28-year-old hasn’t been on a worlds team since 2010 and has struggled with injuries the past two years. He was happy to insert himself into the conversation for this year’s team.
“It was good just to prove everybody that I’m not out,” he said.
Mikulak, Whittenburg and the four other men selected to the team will now have nine weeks to iron out the inconsistency that plagued them here.
For Mikulak, that means focusing on his weaknesses. He’s moved to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, allowing him a greater focus on training. He’s improved on rings, long his weakest event, and scored a 15.500 on Sunday for his highest score ever.
He meditates 15 minutes each day now, a process that has helped him be more mindful during competitions. He’s seeing results, but he knows more is needed from himself and his American teammates.
“It’s fantastic to come out on top,” he said. “I still didn’t live up to my own expectations of how I wanted to perform, but coming out on top is always a good feeling."