SARASOTA, Fla. — Floridians have a good reason to watch the men’s gymnastics team compete in Paris: Almost half of the team trained in Sarasota.
Brody Malone and Stephen Nedoroscik were named to the Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team. Shane Wiskus was also selected as a traveling alternate.
Malone and Nedoroscik claimed two of the five primary spots on the team. Wiskus claimed one of the two traveling alternate positions.
What’s the secret to their success?
The team and staff at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota would like to say they have a little something to do with it.
The men spent the majority of their lifetimes training in gymnastics, but recently all three started training full-time at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota.
“We’ve formed a good brotherhood,” said Nedoroscik.
For Malone, training in Sarasota was a decision he made after a critical leg injury in 2023.
“What really brought me down here was, one, the facility and the coaches, but the medical staff we have set up here,” Malone said. He’s returning to the Olympics as the veteran on the team, having also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Wiskus will tell you training at EVO was the perfect post-college transition.
“I was looking for a team. I was looking for a group of guys to train with and work toward this thing that comes around every four years,” Wiskus said.
But EVO is doing something practically unheard of in the United States—paying athletes a salary to train full-time.
“It just kind of eases your mind and allows you to focus on the gymnastics,” Wiskus said.
Coach Syque Caesar hails from Port St. Lucie, graduated from Lincoln Park Academy, and is now the head coach of the Men's Senior Elite Team at EVO Gymnastics.
He says the success of its athletes proves their format is working.
“We’re providing funding for them to make a living off being a professional gymnast. That’s a pretty new thing in the landscape of men’s gymnastics in the United States,” Caesar said.
He explained it’s similar to the training model countries like Japan, Russia and China use, and those countries win team medals in practically every Olympics.
“They’ve been doing this for years, so this is really new for us,” Caesar said.
“And we’ve already got three people on the Olympic team, so I mean, it’s incredible,” said Malone.
Olympics
Simone Biles headlines women's gymnastics team
They don’t have to worry about making ends meet. They can put their entire focus on mastering their skills in the gym and staying disciplined outside the gym.
“I think it’s just the pursuit of perfection,” said Malone. "When people watch the Olympics, all they see is the 45 seconds of the routine we've been training 20-plus years to do in that moment."
“The blood, sweat and tears, the sacrifices, the determination, the drive that it takes to get there. That’s what’s so inspirational,” said Caesar.
Caesar is also a former Olympian. He competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics representing Bangladesh.
“As far as preparation, I spend a lot of time planning their workouts day in, day out, all the way through to the end of the Olympics. I wish I had that when I was competing as an athlete myself,” Caesar said.
Nedoroscik specializes in the pommel horse. Of the three EVO athletes heading to Paris, he’s the only one making his Olympic debut.
“I’m just so honored and excited,” Nedoroscik said.
So when you think of Sarasota and EVO, the team hopes you’ll think of a special place on the path to the Olympics for these athletes and they home more athletes to come with the same Olympic dream.
“I’m ready to get out there and show the world what I can do,” Nedoroscik said.