Our first show from inside Rotterdam Ahoy! Let’s dissect every moment from women’s podium training at the 2026 World Championships. This is our live post-training Q&A show, where we answer your questions. Here’s how to ask questions live. Can’t make it live? Add Club bonus episodes to your favorite podcast player (instructions here).
This episode is presented by Sand and Sea Luxury Travel Advisors. Plan your dream trip at go.sandandsea.travel/gcnotes and use code GYMCASTICWORLDS.
GYMCASTIC LIVE: VIRTUAL TICKETS ON SALE NOWWatch live from anywhere, or catch the replay. In-person tickets are coming soon with our venue announcements.ROTTERDAM · Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:00 pm CEST (10:00 am PT) — Live at Worlds with Dutch Olympians Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir. Get Rotterdam ticketsNEW YORK CITY · Friday, Dec. 4, 7:00 pm ET (4:00 pm PT) — With special guest Katelyn Ohashi. Get NYC ticketsEarly-bird pricing for Rotterdam ends today, October 15. Discount codes are available on the ticket purchase pages, including Club member and early-bird discounts.AD-FREE EXTENDED CLUB MEMBER PODCAST
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EVERYONE BONUS PODCAST
CHAPTERS
Full Club episode. The free preview runs through the raffle winners (20:35).
00:00 Welcome to Rotterdam
01:20 Breaking news: Russia’s visa drama
04:46 GymCastic Live in Rotterdam with Bart Deurloo and Eythora Thorsdottir
06:30 Reese Esponda’s floor change: our interview with her coach
10:56 Explainer: robot judges, Fujitsu and the barani
20:35 Raffle winners
21:40 Behind the scenes: the dead body and Joe Fraser
24:20 Hezly Rivera’s ankle and the alternate rules
32:28 Opportunities for comedy and best moments of the day
36:44 Subdivision 1: USA, Germany, Romania and individuals
44:48 Japan’s beam, Australia and individuals
57:39 Italy and Manila Esposito
58:43 Tomorrow’s schedule and goodbye
HEADLINES
- Russia’s visas: Angelina Melnikova (RUS), Anna Kalmykova (RUS) and Viktoria Listunova (RUS) were refused visas days before Worlds. Enough athletes were cleared for a team score, which avoided an Olympic-qualification mess.
- Reese Esponda (USA) had to change her floor routine after being told her barani-through skill would be credited as a sideways element, not a forward one. Her coach tells us what that means for her D-score and the U.S. lineup.
- Robot judges: how Fujitsu’s judging support is deciding difficulty in Rotterdam, and why the judges’ education system and what athletes are hearing at Worlds don’t match.
- Hezly Rivera (USA) trained only bars and beam on a sore ankle, rolling out of her dismounts. Should she stay on the team, or should Dulcy Caylor (USA) come in? Plus the traveling-alternate rules.
- Skye Blakely (USA) and the wrong chalk, Claire Pease (USA)‘s Cheng and Moors, and Charleigh Bullock (USA) leading off every event.
- Sabrina Voinea (ROU), Helen Kevric (GER), Japan’s beam with Misa Nishiyama (JPN), Manila Esposito (ITA), Amanda Yap (SGP), Caitlin Rooskrantz (RSA) and Marta Pihan-Kulesza (POL).
- Best moments: Ilia Kovtun (CRO) and Carlos Yulo (PHI) in the same subdivision, and Belgium’s floor music.
- Congratulations to our Worlds fundraiser raffle winners!
Painted GymCastic Rotterdam$22
GymCastic Rotterdam$22See the newest designs →HOW TO FOLLOW THE 2026 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rotterdam time first, then Pacific time. Rotterdam is nine hours ahead of Pacific through October 24 and eight hours ahead on October 25, when Europe leaves summer time. Every session converted to your time zone, plus how to watch, is on Worlds HQ.
- Thursday, October 15: Men’s podium training 10:00; women’s podium training 16:00 (7:00 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast after women’s podium training (this page)
- Friday, October 16: Women’s podium training, 9:30 and 16:00 (12:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast after women’s podium training
- Saturday, October 17: Men’s qualification, sessions 1 and 2
- Sunday, October 18: Men’s qualification session 3; women’s qualification session 4 — GymCastic podcast
- Monday, October 19: Women’s qualification, sessions 5 and 6 — GymCastic podcast
- Tuesday, October 20: Men’s team final, 19:00 (10:00 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast
- Wednesday, October 21: Women’s team final, 19:00 (10:00 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast
- Thursday, October 22: Men’s all-around final, 19:30 (10:30 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast
- Friday, October 23: Women’s all-around final, 19:30 (10:30 a.m. PT) — GymCastic podcast
- Saturday, October 24: Apparatus finals day one, 14:00 (5:00 a.m. PT) — men’s floor, pommel horse and rings; women’s vault and uneven bars. GymCastic Live in Rotterdam, 19:00 (10:00 a.m. PT)
- Sunday, October 25: Apparatus finals day two, 14:00 (6:00 a.m. PT) — men’s vault, parallel bars and high bar; women’s balance beam and floor — GymCastic podcast
Podcast times depend on the competition, podium ceremonies and mixed-zone interviews.
UP NEXT
Tomorrow: women’s podium training, day two, live from Rotterdam.
WORLDS COVERAGE
- 2026 World Championships Headquarters: every session in your time zone, every qualified team and gymnast, and how to watch
- Photo Gallery: 2026 World Championships – Podium Training, October 14
- 2026 Worlds Preview Part 2: Andrade, Melnikova & China’s Beam Powerhouse
- 2026 Worlds Preview Part 1: Team USA, Kaylia Nemour & Japan’s Medal Threat
- Behind The Scenes: Off to Rotterdam!
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GYMCASTIC TOOLS, GAMES AND RESOURCES
- *NEW* ROTTERDAM WORLDS ROSTER TRACKER
- Find out who’s competing in the 2026 World Championships — search WAG and MAG by name or country, find out how they qualified and link to their score rankings. Updated daily.
- GymCastic tools:
- LA 2028 Roster Lab — Now with auto-fill highest-scoring team, team comparisons and updated roster briefs.
- Elite Score Explorer — U.S. Championships scores are in, plus new charting options and the vault bonus toggle.
- International Gymnastics Calendar
- GymCastic Games
- GymCastic Newsletters
- The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer Barnes’ GIF Code of Points
- Gymnastics History: Gymnastics history and Code of Points archive from Uncle Tim
- Resistance Resources
Cover art and photographs © GymCastic / Steve Cooper. All rights reserved.
Kensley’s exact quote on the US men’s podium training was that they looked “terrible” and the only good routine all day was Patty Hoopes on pommel horse
This Fujitsu scenario sounds unfair. Note that Fujitsu designed the computer system in the UK Post Office scandal. The problems went on for 20 years. Every time I hear their name I shudder.
I bought VIP tickets to the live show as I assumed that includes entry to the party bus 😉