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5280's Olympic History

Meet our Olympians Yul Moldauer, Sasha Artemev and Alex Svitlychny and learn about their Olympic journeys

5280 Gymnastics is proud to have multiple ex-olympian gymnasts and coaches under our roof. Read on to find out more!

Yul's Gymnastics History

Yul was born in 1996 in Seoul, South Korea. He was adopted a year later by his parents who lived on a farm in Northern Colorado. When he was 7, he attended his first gymnastics class with a friend which was the start of his phenomenal career! 


 When Yul was 10, his family made the move to Denver so Yul could train under the coaching of Vladimir and the Artemev Family (who are our current 5280 Men's program coaches). In the next few years, he started winning state and regional meets and earned a place on the USAG Junior National team!!


Yul's Collegiate Journey

Fast forward to 2016:


Yul earned a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma and won his first NCAA all around title as a freshman and has since been on a success streak taking medals at National, International and World competitions.


His single achievements are too long to list, but we dare you to google him! 


In Spring 2020, Yul graduated from Oklahoma University as one of the most decorated gymnasts in NCAA history. He was also the recipient of the Nissen-Emery Award, a prestigious award that goes to the top male collegiate gymnast in the country. He achieved all of this while also earning his Bachelor’s degree and graduating from OU in May of 2019! 


OU

Accomplishments

Check out this impressive list of achievements while attending Oklahoma University:


  • 2020 Winter Cup Vault Champion and Parallel Bars Bronze Medalist
  • Member of the 2019 World Championships Team. Advanced to the All-Around Final
  • 2019 U.S. All-Around, Floor Exercise & Parallel Bars Silver Medalist
  • 2019 NCAA Team & Still Rings Silver Medalist and Pommel Horse Bronze Medalist (Oklahoma)
  • 2019 Nissen Award Winner
  • Three-time American Cup Champion (2017-19)
  • 2019 Winter Cup All-Around Champion
  • Member of the 2018 World Championships Team. Advanced to the All-Around and Floor Exercise finals
  • 2018 U.S. All-Around, Floor Exercise & Vault Silver Medalist and Still Rings & Parallel Bars Bronze Medalist
  • 2018 NCAA Team, All-Around, Floor Exercise, Vault & Parallel Bars Champion and Pommel Horse & Still Rings Silver Medalist (Oklahoma)
  • 2017 World Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist, and 7th All-Around
  • 2017 U.S. All-Around & Floor Exercise Champion & Parallel Bars Silver Medalist
  • 2017 NCAA Team, Floor Exercise & Still Rings Champion, All-Around Silver Medalist and Parallel Bars & High Bar Bronze Medalist (Oklahoma)
  • 2017 Winter Cup All-Around, Still Rings & Parallel Bars Champion and Floor Exercise & Vault Silver Medalist
  • 2016 NCAA Team & All-Around Champion, Parallel Bars Silver Medalist and Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist (Oklahoma)


What happened next?

In 2020, after COVID closed down the OU gym, Yul decided to come back to train for the Olympics at 5280 Gymnastics, where he grew up under the guidance of the Artemev Family.


Let's learn more about who the Artemev Family is...

5280 Gymnastics was born

Vladimir Atemev was a member of the Soviet National team from 1977 to 1987 and was the Soviet National All-Around Champion in 1982 and 1984. He was unable to compete at the 1984 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet Boycott.


His son, "Sasha" Alexander Artemev was born in 1985 in Minsk. Vladimir and Sasha moved to the United States in 1994 and became U.S. citizens in 2002. 


In 2003, along with our founders Jim (and Beth) Trammell,  Coach Vladimir helped open the doors at 5280 Gymnastics where he became the Men's Team Head Coach - and the Artemev legacy was born.

What happened next?

In 2006, Sasha won 3 titles at the U.S. National Championships (All-Around, Pommel Horse and Parallel Bars).


He was  the only member of the American Men’s Team to win a medal at the 2006 World Championships, and the first U.S. gymnast since Kurt Thomas in 1979 to win a World Championship medal on pommel!


In 2007, leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Sasha was the first gymnast to land a triple-twisting Yurkencho vault which helped him earn 4th All-Around at U.S. National Championships.


At the 2008 U.S. Nationals, Sasha was the Pommel Horse Champion for the second consecutive year.


After Olympic Trials in June of 2008, he was named as an alternate to the men’s team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. On August 7th, Morgan Hamm was injured and Sasha was officially added to the Men’s Olympic Team!

2008 Beijing Olympics

During the 2008 Olympics Men’s Team Finals Competition, the U.S Men's Team headed into their last event and their scores were teetering between winning a podium Bronze Medal and 4th place.


Sasha was the LAST competitor on the LAST event (Pommel) for Team USA and his routine could either make or break the team’s chances to win an Olympic medal…

USA Men's Team earns an Olympic Medal!

Sasha’s flawless routine as the last competitor of the last event for Team USA in Finals locked in their Team Bronze Medal victory at the 2008 Olympic Games!


His incredible performance made gymnastics history!


The USA Men’s team has not earned an Olympic medal since the 2008 Olympics.

Now back to Yul Moldauer!

We couldn’t be more proud to have Sasha and Vladimir (his father and coach) call 5280 Gymnastics home.


Coach Vladimir, his wife Irina, Coach Sasha and his wife Bailey, are all incredible mentors and leaders to every child that walks through the doors at our gym!


Now back to Yul's story...

2021 Olympic Trials

As you might remember, the 2020 Summer Olympics was delayed a year because of COVID. In June 2021, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Gymnastics was held at The Dome at America’s Center in St Louis, MO.


Yul officially earned a spot on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Mens Gymnastics Team at this competition alongside Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak and Shane Wiskus!


Check out the video of his amazing performance at Olympic Trials that earned him a spot on the 2021 Men’s Olympic Team!



Yul Returns to 5280 as an Olympian!

June 29, 2021 – Yul returns back to Colorado and as an official member of the Tokyo Olympic Team!


Check out this awesome video of his return to 5280 Gymnastics!


2021 Tokyo Olympics

July 24 – August 8, 2021 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games:


The American Team qualified to the Team Finals, and on July 26th, Yul along with the rest of the U.S. Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Team took 5th in the Team Finals Competition at the Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo, Japan.


Yul also qualified to the Floor Exercise event final.


On August 1, 2021, Yul placed 6th in the Men’s Floor Final, finishing with a score of 13.533 to cap off his first Olympic Games.

Yul's 2024 Comeback

Yul came back to 5280 to train for 3 years with hopes in competing in the Paris Olympics. He qualified all the way to Olympic Trials and was selected as a non-traveling alternate for the team. We couldn’t be more proud of Yul and all of his incredible accomplishments.


We are so lucky to have him inspiring and mentoring the next generation of boys (and girls) at 5280!


Yul’s Most Recent Accomplishments:


  • 2024 HNI All Around Champion
  • 2023 Winter Cup All Around Champion
  • 2023 DTB Pokal Team Champions
  • 2023 Pan American Championships Team Champions & All Around Champ
  • 2023 Named to Senior National Team for 8th time in a row
  • 2023 World Championships Team USA Bronze (6th time going to Worlds)
  • 2023 Swiss Cup Champion
  • 2023 Arthur Gander Memorial Champion
  • 2022 DTB Pokal Team Champions
  • 2022 Pan American Championships Team Champions & 2nd AA
  • 2022 2nd Place at Arthur Gander Memorial
  • 2022 Swiss Cup Champion
  • 2021 Arthur Gander Memorial Champion
  • 2021 U.S. Parallel Bars Champion, All-Around Silver Medalist and Floor Exercise & Still Rings Bronze Medalist
  • 2021 Winter Cup Parallel Bars Champion and All-Around & Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist


BUT WAIT.... THERE'S MORE!!!

Meet our 3x Olympian who is now our women's coach

Alex Svitlychny

Oleks/"Alex" has been a coach at 5280 Gymnastics since 2014, when he moved to the United States with his family. Prior to that, he spent 10 years coaching in Ukraine, where he held prestigious roles including Head Coach of the National Youth Team, Head Regional Coach, and Head Coach at the National Pedagogical University in Kharkiv.


Before starting his coaching career, Alex was a competitive gymnast for 25 years. He began gymnastics at the age of 7, initially thinking it was a physical education class due to its location in his school. However, his passion quickly grew, leading him to compete in five European Championships, five World Championships, and three Olympic Games (1996, 2000,2004), where he earned two team medals in 1996 and 2000. His strongest events were the High Bar and Vault, and he excelled in all-around competitions, achieving top placements at the Olympics and World Championships.


With a lifetime of experience in gymnastics, Alex is passionate about sharing his knowledge and skills with the next generation of athletes. Outside of the gym, he enjoys helping his wife, Olga, with gardening and spending time traveling, especially near the ocean.

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