US Gymnastics Olympic Trials 2021: Injuries no deterrent for the dazzling Shane Wiskus
As the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials 2021 got underway at The Dome in St. Louis, all eyes were on Shane Wiskus. The University of Minnesota graduate had a devastating fall, which left him nursing several injuries to his body, putting an Olympic spot in jeopardy – just three weeks ago.
Shane Wiskus seemed to have put the gory incident behind him as he excelled on Day 1 of the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials 2021 with 84.3 points.
Read: US Olympic Gymnastics Trials 2021 - Where to watch, live streaming details, tickets information
It must have been a surreal feeling for Shane Wiskus to be on the cusp of glory – a ticket to the Olympics – more so when his best finish in all-round was fourth.
For the record, the winner makes it to the Tokyo Olympics while the second-best gymnast has to top in three events to make the cut.
Injury scare for Shane Wiskus
The US Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, was an unforgettable event for Shane Wiskus. He was making merry as the second-best gymnast on the floor when tragedy struck.
In a high bar routine, an event that Shane Wiskus has been engaging in ever since he was a child, the gymnast endured three falls injuring his head and wrist, including a couple of ligament tears.
He did finish the event but was dizzy and fortunately he didn’t have any concussion or other internal injuries.
Despite the career-threatening injury, Shane Wiskus was found racing against time to get back on his feet and make it back in time for the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials, with a ticket to Tokyo on the line.
Shane Wiskus did all he could to get back in the nick of time. A cortisone shot has brought back a sense of normalcy in him, but he has a lot to recuperate.
Also read: Brody Malone closes in on Tokyo ticket after a dominating performance on Day
On Thursday, Shane Wiskus showed he is a force to be reckoned with by making a clean performance on Day 1. On the high bars, Wiskus showed no signs of discomfort and ended the event as the third-highest scorer with 13.8 points.
He did better on parallel bars with a score of 14.5, finished third on vault with 14.6 and if he manages to hold on to his performances on Friday, he could walk out of The Dome with a ticket to Tokyo.
Results (top three):
All-round
Brody Malone — 85.25
Shane Wiskus — 84.3
Yul Moldauer — 83.65
Floor Exercise
Brody Malone — 14.6
Sam Mikulak — 14.6
Paul Juda — 14.45
High Bar
Brody Malone — 14.45
Sam Mikulak — 13.85
Shane Wiskus — 13.8
Parallel Bars
Shane Wiskus — 14.5
Yul Moldauer — 14.4
Brody Malone — 14.1
Pommel Horse
Alec Yoder — 15.05
Yul Moldauer — 14.1
Allan Bower — 14.05
Still Rings
Alex Diab — 14.5
Brody Malone — 14.2
Donnell Whittenburg — 14.1
Vault
Donnell Whittenburg — 15.05
Vitaliy Guimaraes — 14.7
Shane Wiskus — 14.6