Team Tampa Bay's Take with Joey Johnston: USA Gymnastics' Yul Moldauer

By Joey Johnston

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Yul Moldauer can’t wait to arrive in Tampa for the OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships, set for Aug. 18-21 at Amalie Arena.

“It’s an area where there’s a beach everywhere,’’ Moldauer said. “Great restaurants. Great scenery. A few of us are actually going to stay a few days after the competition and get in a mini-vacation.’’

But before Moldauer, 25, can fully experience Tampa’s amenities, it’s all business. As one of America’s top men’s gymnastics prospects for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Moldauer said he’s viewing the U.S. Championships as a springboard for what he hopes will become the punctuation mark on a sterling career.

He’s an 18-time All-American from the University of Oklahoma, part of three national-champion teams with the Sooners and only the second gymnast in NCAA history to capture the all-around title as a freshman. He has three first-place finishes at the U.S. Championships — the 2017 all-around and floor exercise, plus the 2021 parallel bars — which positions him to become a vital American cog.

“This is the time of the year when the championships start to happen, so Tampa will be exciting,’’ Moldauer said. “We’re looking to bring some hardware to the USA. As far as my routines and my competitive drive the last few years, I really haven’t stopped.’’

And that’s in keeping with Moldauer’s personality. For those who know him best, he’s a man in motion, an excitable and fiery presence, a fan favorite.

“There’s nobody in our sport like Yul,’’ Jason Woodnick, vice president of the men’s program for USA Gymnastics. “He just doesn’t have an off-switch. He’s so passionate. When he wants something, he goes and gets it. Some athletes have tremendous talent, but they can’t hold up under that kind of pace. Yul never stops. Truly, he never does. I think that’s the story of his gymnastics life.’’

It’s also the story of his upbringing.

Moldauer was born in Seoul, South Korea to a chemically dependent mother who named him Kyung-Tae. That became his middle name when he was adopted by an American couple, Peter and Orsa Moldauer, who chose Yul as his first name because the baby had very little hair, reminding them of Yul Brynner, the bald actor best known for “The King And I.’’

As a child growing up in Colorado, Moldauer could not sit still — or stay quiet. The parents became exasperated while trying everything to channel his energy. When Yul was 7 years old, the mother noticed his relative ease at negotiating the monkey bars on a school playground while the other children struggled. Soon after that, she enrolled Yul in a gymnastics class.

That changed his life — and his trajectory.

Moldauer’s mother watched him work and declared he was fearless, a quality that usually serves a gymnast well.

“Here's the truth: My mom might have thought I was fearless, but on the inside, I was definitely scared,’’ Moldauer said with a laugh. “I definitely still get scared or nervous now. But I don’t want fear or being nervous to get in the way of what I want to accomplish.

“I think that’s what big-time sports are all about, getting past that tough point, pushing through somehow. When you’re an athlete, you have to face your fears. You find out who you are, how you compete and what kind of athlete you really are. Tampa is my chance to show that all over again.’’

Moldauer has proven to be fearless away from the gym as well.

He has spoken out against racial injustice and inequality, particularly hate crimes perpetrated against Asian-Americans. In Moldauer’s view, athletic leadership can be shown away from his sport.

“Yul is truly one of my favorite athletes to interview because he speaks his mind,’’ said Christy Sandmaier, co-publisher of Inside Gymnastics magazine. “He shows the same sort of fire, the same focus, during the interview that he does on the competition floor. There are so many sides to him and he’s a huge part of the U.S. team as we start looking to 2024. So there’s no doubt he’s someone to watch closely in Tampa.’’