In a year with no Olympics or World Championships, other tournaments start getting noticed. Two months ago, fans had their gymnastics calendar set with the Artist Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup, followed by the Youth Olympics. However, in the wake of safety concerns, the Doha edition was cancelled, and Team USA have now made a decision on the latter.

According to the minutes released from a recent meeting, USA Gymnastics is in favour of not attending the 2026 Youth Olympics.

“The Development Program Director gave an update on the Youth Olympic Games,” read the minutes. “After USOPC representatives visited Dakar last week, they led an informational call for NGB’s.”

The minutes added, “We received a full report of the conditions and expectations for this competition, which were not favorable. There were several key items that are putting into question the safety and well-being of the athletes, which has led to an internal discussion with both Men’s and Women’s Programs around declining the invitation to compete.

“We have also learned that other US sports have declined to participate citing the same challenges. The MPC agreed that this was a less-than-ideal situation and they would not be in favor of attending.”

This isn’t the first time that Team USA have prioritized their athletes’ safety over participation. In fact, it’s the second such event from which Team USA have withdrawn their gymnasts. The first was the Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup, from which Team USA withdrew from two series.

That happened to be the Antalya and Cairo World Cup series, although Team USA were set to participate in the other events. Furthermore, organisers eventually canceled the Doha Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus with tensions in the Middle East forcing their hand. But Team USA’s potential withdrawal from the 2026 Youth Olympics comes as a surprise, as they’ll reportedly be the only team to do so.

The 2026 edition marks the return of the Summer Youth Olympics after an eight-year hiatus. Dakar initially planned to host the 2022 Youth Olympics, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the event. During that pause, IOC and their new president, Kristy Coventry, made changes and reset the way the Youth Olympics works.

That includes limiting each sport to one discipline and reducing the program to 153 events across 25 sports. Furthermore, in light of safety concerns in the regions, the IOC has also removed several road and beach events to reduce the impact on athletes and the city.

Yet despite that, Team USA will likely withdraw their gymnasts from the event, replicating what USA Swimming has done.

USA Swimming to not send a team to the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics

While Team USA have historically prioritized other meets, fans hoped that the 2026 Youth Olympics would change that. That’s because in the past, Team USA has often focused on the Pan Pac and Junior Pan Pacs, not sending its best to the Games. It’s why, in the history of the Youth Olympic Games, the USA has won only 8 medals: 4 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze.

Not exactly a record haul, with their most successful edition coming in 2014 with three golds. Since then, problems have also overshadowed the Games, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has led to an eight-year hiatus and, according to Swim Swam, USA Swimming won’t be sending a team to the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics. While Team USA Gymnastics cited safety concerns, USA Swimming’s spokesperson cited resource allocation as per the report.

However, there is a chance that USOPC may create a team. But the report indicates that USA Swimming has not yet been made aware of this. There is precedent, as they did the same in 2022, when USA Swimming didn’t participate in the World University Games. Instead, they opened it to college and university programs, which ended up sending a combined team.

They won 7 medals, including 1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals in the process. This isn’t the first time that has happened, either. So much so, when USA Swimming opts against sending a team, the US-ISF selects a high-ranked university team to compete instead.

In the end, safety has once again taken precedence over participation, with USA Gymnastics opting to step back rather than risk athlete well-being. And with other programs following suit, the 2026 Youth Olympics may go ahead, but without some of its biggest names.