2026 World Championships Qualifications: Hits, Misses, & Surprises

OKa SHinnosuke (JPN), Hashimoto Daiki (JPN) & Kawakami Shohei (JPN): they really showed the Japanese domination. Despite a fall from HB, Daiki qualified in 2nd position, and Shohei was “two-per-country-out”.
Jake Jarman (GBR): he qualified for 4 finals and is 1st reserve for PB; he’s just 1.400 pt behind Shinnosuke.
Arsenii Dukhno (RUS): his first year as a Senior; he confirmed his status obtained in Zagreb where he won 3 Silver medals.

Carlos Edriel Yulo (PHI): it’s hard to come back after 2 falls on high bar, but he did great on floor. Unfortunately, pommel horse was also complicated… Despite 3 falls, he could have been 5th Reserve if the position existed.
Karl Eldrew Yulo (PHI): he also fell on high bar, but also on floor and made some serious mistakes on rings
René Cournoyer (CAN): PB & HB were great, but falls on FX, SR and VT made things complicated

Arsenii Dukhno (RUS): he combined high difficulty with excellent execution, ranking ahead of all Olympic and World medalists.
Carlos Yulo (PHI): the reigning Olympic champion scored the highest execution score of the finalists and the second highest of the entire competition.
Artem Dolgopyat (ISR): he (nearly) always qualifies for the FX finals.
Jake Jarman (GBR): the reigning World champion has the highest D-score (tied with K. Nelson).
Frederick Richard (USA): despite an unusual 0.3 deduction, presumably due to the lack of diversity in his corner transitions, he still reached the top four.

Harry Hepworth (GBR): He got luckier on vault; he missed the FX final by 0.067. It seems 14.000 is the new threshold for FX finals.
Ray Zapata (ESP): The crazy thing with Ray is that since 2021 he has managed to qualify only for the Olympic finals, which is not a bad “choice” eventually.
Kameron Nelson (USA): The king of the triple backs has the highest D score but was penalized for his lower E score (7.233).

Noam Berkowich (ISR): One of the two gymnasts to include a triple back in his routine. This is his first Senior Worlds. He continues the tradition of Israeli FX specialists after Shatilov and Dolgopyat.
Yahor Sharamkou (BLR): It is a semi-surprise. He is known for his huge difficulty and his presence in many World Cup finals, but it is his first Worlds final.

Hamlet Manukyan (ARM): confirmed his status as a young PH prodigy, and is the gold medalist at the 2025 Euros and FISU Games.
Mamikon Khachatryan (ARM): just like his teammate, he is part of this impressive new wave of strong specialists emerging from Armenia.
Gabriele Targhetta (ITA): unlike last year, when he failed to qualify (he was R1), he secured his ticket to the final with the second-highest E score.
Patrick Hoopes (USA): last year’s bronze medalist in Jakarta had the highest D score.

Rhys McClenaghan: the reigning Olympic champion failed to qualify; his performance in Zagreb was encouraging, but the competition of the new generation of PH specialists from Armenia and Italy pushed him to 2nd reserve.
Lee Chih-kai (TPE): the silver medalist in Tokyo performed pretty well and ranked 12th, but his D score (5.5) was too low.

Kilan van der Aa (BEL): Kilan has a good track record, but he’s not regularly present in major international finals. His solid execution played a major part in his qualification.

Lan Xingyu (CHN): for the second year in a row, he qualified first. He won gold in 2021 and bronze last year.
Ilya Zaika (RUS): his execution score (8.833) is consistently solid.
Artur Avetisyan (ARM): this will be his second World Championships final after Liverpool 2022, where he placed 4th.
Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE): this is his 10th World Championships and his 6th final. He has already won 3 golds.
Glen Cuyle (BEL): he is becoming a regular in major finals.

Nikita Simonov (AZE): It is so frustrating to be the first reserve, especially after delivering such a solid routine, but his D-score was slightly lower and his E-score was not slightly higher…
Zou Jingyuan (CHN): some mistakes and an E-score much lower than usual. His injury did not help.
Harry Hepworth (GBR): Last year, he qualified for the SR final while Courtney did not. Harry made the VT final, though.

Ayberk Mehet Koşak (TUR): The Mediterranean Games gold medalist confirmed his high level. It was nice to see him in the final after being in the top 20 for several years.
Five stuck landings in the top eight

Jake Jarman (GBR): the only gymnast in qualifications to perform a 5.6 vault (the “Yonekura”).
Artur Davtyan (ARM): it would not be a real final without the Olympic vice-champion, would it?
Nazar Chepurnyi (UKR): one of the best current vault specialists, bronze medalist in Antwerp and 2026 European champion.
Carlos E. Yulo (PHI): reigning Olympic and World champion.

Ondřej Kalný (CZE): he decided to withdraw after his first vault.
Yahor Sharamkou (BLR): first reserve, just one tenth behind Harry Hepworth. All the qualifiers had an E score > 9.000; he was the first of the non-qualified gymnasts not to have one.

Kawakami Shohei (JPN): he wasn’t exactly expected, since his track record is not as good as the other qualifiers.

Zou Jingyuan (CHN): the same score as in 2025 in QX; his E-score is his personal best, and this was not his highest D.
Illia Kovtun (CRO): the highest D-score of the group
Oka Shinnosuke (JPN): won bronze in Paris 2024
= The top 3 qualifiers are the Paris 2024 Parallel Bars medalists

The list of potential qualifiers for the final was very long. This was probably the most crowded event. This is the apparatus where the average E score is the highest (after VT). It was necessary to have en E score close to or above 9.000 combined with a D score of at least 5.4

David Rumbutis (SWE): although I had listed him in the possible contenders, I knew it would be hard to qualify with such a competition. But his level of execution in the recent videos he posted showed regularity in the quality of his routines.
Six stuck landings in the top eight

Shinnosuke Oka (JPN): the reigning Olympic champion had his revenge in 2025.
Ángel Barajas (COL): the second-highest D score (but the lowest E score) – it paid off.
Camilo Vera (COL): the lowest D score but an E score > 8.5.
Tang Chia-hung: the gymnast who has presented some of the most original and best-executed routines since 2025.

Hashimoto Daiki (JPN) and Maeda Fusuke (JPN): They both fell, but Japan still managed to qualify two gymnasts, which means that four members of the team had the potential to reach the top eight. Fusuke had created high expectations for his first participation in an international meet, and the complexity of his routine and connections made him one of the favorites.
Félix Dolci (CAN): The FISU Games gold medalist had what it takes to make the top eight, but at this level, even a 14.033 is not enough to secure a spot in the final.

Arthur Nory (BRA): he fell, hit his head, started bleeding, left, then came back with a bandage around his forehead and was about to do his floor routine with it (something I had never seen before). Then he left again and argued with the authorities, who did not allow him to continue the competition in his condition. He then returned to support his teammates and took off his bandage. Meanwhile, the staff were cleaning the mats under the high bar, which were covered with blood. They should make a film about it…

Jesse Moore (AUS): he’s not really known for his participation in major HB finals and his D score is not among the highest, but his high E score made the difference.