[ad_1]
Bluffton Olympics supporters will have a special athlete to watch and cheer for when the event takes place in Tokyo from July 23rd to August 8th.
Alec Yoder, grandson of Dr. Alan and Diann Yoder from Bluffton will be an official member of the US men’s gymnastics team when he qualifies on Saturday.
Alec is the son of Mike and Rebecca Yoder from Indianapolis. Mike is a graduate of Bluffton HS.
For more photos click here on Mark Yoder’s Facebook.
Alec has been selected for the single place – new to this year’s Olympic program – and will fight for a pommel horse medal in Japan.
The Icon asked Dr. Mark Yoder of Bluffton, Alec’s uncle, explaining how all of this came together for his nephew Alec:
The US Olympic gymnastics roster consists of 4 all-round athletes. That is, they compete in all six events. However, Alec only competes on parallel bars and pommel horse, where he has been both NCAA champion and national champion in the past.
The US has won the right to bring a specialist, an athlete who does not participate in all-round competitions. The US Olympic Committee decided which specialty had a chance of a medal in Tokyo and chose Alec based on his performance on the pommel.
Here is his résumé for the award.
2021 US pommel horse silver medalist
Winter cup winner in pommel horse 2021 and bronze medal winner on parallel bars
2020 Winter Cup pommel horse champion
2019 NCAA Pommel Horse Champion (Ohio State)
Member of the 2018 World Cup team
2018 US champion in pommel horse
2018 NCAA All-Round Bronze Medalist (State of Ohio)
2018 Winter Cup pommel horse champion and parallel silver medalist
2017 NCAA Team Silver Medalist (State of Ohio)
2016 NCAA Pommel Horse Silver Medalist and Team Bronze Medalist (Ohio State)
[ad_2]
