Danila Leykin won all-around bronze at the 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix, posting a two-day score of 167.001 that marked a significant jump from his 10th-place finish at last year’s national championships.
The 19-year-old first-year senior from EVO Gymnastics shared the podium with gold medalist Frederick Richard, who scored 170.015, and silver medalist Shane Wiskus, who posted 167.964. Leykin’s performance secured him multiple medals across the two-day event held August 8-9 at the Mortgage Matchup Center.
In addition to his all-around bronze, Leykin earned silver on horizontal bar with a 29.571 and bronze on parallel bars with the same score. He said he had targeted those three events heading into the competition and executed his strategy well, though he recovered from a weaker floor exercise performance on day two.
“It’s pretty important in gymnastics to be able to regroup,” Leykin told International Gymnast after the event. “Knowing that pommel horse is extremely important for me, I just forgot about it and even used it a little bit to my advantage—maybe get a little juice, get a little angry.”
Leykin’s bronze medal represents a major breakthrough at the senior elite level. At last year’s 2025 U.S. Championships in New Orleans, he finished 10th in the all-around. His improvement of eight places in one year reflects his progression as a first-year senior competing against the nation’s best male gymnasts.
Following his strong finish, Leykin was named to the U.S. men’s World Championships team for the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam in October. The team also includes Richard, Wiskus, Kameron Nelson, and Patrick Hoopes, with Yul Moldauer as a traveling replacement athlete.
Leykin reflected on the moment of seeing himself in contention at the national level. “After day one, it was pretty cool to see myself in second place, closely behind Fred,” he said. “It’s a little more real in the sense that all these dreams are slowly becoming a reality. The main difference is now I see it’s really possible, here, in the mix.”
The 19-year-old has built momentum throughout 2026, winning the Winter Cup high bar championship in February and earning selection to the World Championships team. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist group from the 2024 Paris Games and has competed at multiple international championships, including the 2025 Junior World Championships in Manila, where he placed fourth in the all-around and won three medals.
Sources
- USA Gymnastics — official announcement of Richard’s all-around title, final scores, and World Championships team selection
- International Gymnast Online — Leykin’s post-competition interview and details on his performance and progression
- Olympics.com — Leykin’s background and career context
- NBC Sports — 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships results and all-around standings
