While the GOAT of gymnastics is now seemingly busy showering her support for her husband on the gridiron, she doesn’t forget to celebrate the moments of her sport. One such moment seemingly stuck with Simone Biles recently.

With the World Gymnastics Championships going on, all eyes are on the US gymnasts. And among them is Donnell Whittenburg. While he had traveled to the Olympics twice as an alternate, he could not call himself a champion. But as the curtain came down on the men’s still rings routine, Whittenburg could finally heave a sigh of relief and call himself a champion. 

Competing at the worlds, the 31-year-old made history by winning a world championship title on still rings. Interestingly, Whittenburg became the very first US gymnast to pull off the impressive feat. Soon after his triumph, the champion gymnast was flooded with congratulations. And the one that stood apart from the lot came from none other than Simone Biles herself.

Taking to her Instagram story, Biles reposted USA Gymnastics’ post about Whittenburg winning the gold. Her caption read, “okay boys, pop off & show out HYFR @donnell_ whittenburg.”

Someone like Biles’ stature acknowledging his feat will surely do a world of good to his confidence. And the 31-year-old’s story of grit and determination is equally compelling.

Whittenburg tore his Achilles back in 2024. And considering his advanced age in gymnastics, speculations were made about whether it was the end of the road. 

Now, coming to his performance in the finals, he scored a phenomenal 14.7 points in still rings to win gold. And one of the biggest highlights of his routine was the ‘Whittenburg’ dismount, which he performed for the first time internationally in 2017. Nailing the triple pike back somersault to perfection, the 31-year-old became the oldest US gymnast to compete at the worlds in the 35 age bracket.

En route to his victory, he defeated quite a few big names.

With a 14.566 score, the 2022 World Champion, Adem Asil, took silver. Subsequently, China’s Lan Xingyu took bronze with a score of 14.5. Unfortunately, touted as one of the favorites, three-time world champion, Greek gymnast, Eleftherios Petrounias, ended fifth with a modest 14.3 score.

Now, adding to all these, Whittenburg also stands shoulder to shoulder with Simone Biles after he secured his ticket to Jakarta.

Donnell Whittenburg matched Simone Biles’ legacy with a historic feat

While Simone Biles just praised Whittenburg for his impeccable win at the Worlds, he made sure to place himself on the same pedestal as the GOAT.

Just by qualifying for the 2025 Jakarta World Gymnastics Championships, Donnel Whittenburg became the only American gymnast, alongside Biles, to qualify for six consecutive World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. 

Asher Hong, the medal prospect of the USA in still rings, had to back off from the meet on the very first day owing to his ankle injury. Following that, the nation’s expectations of a Worlds medal fell on the shoulders of Whittenburg, and he made sure to stand up to it.

Qualifying for the Worlds at 31 was already a historic feat, but his win at his sixth championship just added another jewel to his crown.

He has been aiming for this feat for years. Despite several failures and setbacks, the Baltimore-native never gave up on his dreams.

“I’ve been training my butt off to get to this moment, and I’m just, I’m just glad I was able to really show exactly what I was capable of”, shared Whittenburg with Inside Gymnastics. Talking about the record he made by qualifying for World championships for the sixth time, he humorously added, “That just means I’m old. You know, as long as you have a dream, you shouldn’t stop trying to chase it. And I feel like this is just a stepping stone of my ultimate goal.”