It was supposed to be a big week for Team USA Gymnastics. After all, it was time for the Antalya World Cup in Turkey, one of the most important events on the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series scheduled for March 12. And hopes from Team USA athletes: Brandon Dang, Patty Hoopes, and Donnell Whittenburg, were high. But just a day before the competition, USA Gymnastics made a surprising move pulling its athletes from the event.

On March 11, @USAGym shared an update on X: “Men’s International Assignment Update: USAG will no longer send athletes to Antalya or Cairo Artistic World Cups.” And it wasn’t just Antalya; Cairo, originally scheduled for April 3, was also affected. The U.S. roster for Cairo, which included Crew Bold, Patty Hoopes, and Parker Thackston, will no longer compete.

Another adjustment came for the Osijek World Cup in Croatia, which was supposed to be held from April 10 to April 13, 2025. Brandon Dang was originally scheduled to compete alongside Kameron Nelson, Donnell Whittenburg, and Patty Hoopes, but Patty Hoopes will now replace Dang.

While these gymnastics competitions remain on the international calendar, U.S. men’s artistic gymnasts who were earlier selected are now out, leaving a noticeable gap in the team’s lineup. If they had competed, the U.S. athletes would have been strong contenders.

Patrick Hoopes has a track record of greatness, including a bronze medal at the World Championships on pommel horse, the U.S. national pommel horse title, and the NCAA pommel horse championship in 2025.

Crew Bold has specialized in high bar and parallel bars, where his achievements have earned him medals in the U.S. Championships and Winter Cup, and he was selected for the 2026 U.S. Senior National Team. Moreover, Parker Thackston is an outstanding collegiate gymnast who rides a pommel horse and is regularly named Big Ten Specialist of the Week, and is among the best in NCAA and national ratings.

So why the sudden withdrawals?

Many gymnastics fans on Reddit believe safety concerns in the region played a major role. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East, coupled with the U.S. State Department advising citizens to leave Egypt and Turkey, appear to have influenced USA Gymnastics’ decision.

One fan explained: “US is telling citizens to evacuate Egypt, and Turkey is between the Middle East conflict and Ukrainian conflict. The US wouldn’t be able to easily get them out if something happened.”

Another added: “I hate this but best for the gymnasts safety. I have to wonder how many more countries have to pull from the cups before the FIG does anything. Reschedule? Move the cups to Cottbus? When these are the major individual olympic qualifiers, youd think theyd do something (i mean they wont, but its fun to think they would.)”

For now, Team USA gymnastics will focus on safer events and upcoming competitions. While some withdrawals were clearly driven by safety concerns, not all were related to external factors; some were personal choices by the athletes themselves.

Top U.S. gymnastics star withdraws from DTB Pokal

As part of the original 2026 international assignments following the Winter Cup, gymnastics star Asher Hong was listed for the DTB Pokal Team Challenge in Germany, alongside teammates like Yul Moldauer and Joshua Karnes. He had been a key hope for Team USA to bring both experience and elite skill to the roster on March 19.

After all, Hong is one of the top U.S. men’s gymnasts and has built an impressive résumé in recent years. He is a two-time U.S. men’s all-around national champion, winning in 2023 and again in 2025 by a record margin. During the nationals in 2025, he won several individual apparatus awards, such as floor, vault, and rings, and finished second on parallel bars.

He also played in the U.S Olympic team that took bronze in the Paris Games in 2024. Hong was the sole U.S. gymnast to be placed on the 2025 World Championships team automatically because he had won a national title, but he was forced to pull out of the event because of an injury.

Despite his strong standing, Hong will not compete at DTB, and Jun Iwai, who is the 2025 Pan American Champion on floor exercise, will take his place on the roster. However, no statement from Hong’s side has been released regarding his withdrawal.

For now, the U.S. gymnastics team will shift focus to remaining competitions, ensuring athletes are prepared and ready for the challenges ahead.