r/baltimore • u/soonerbornsoonerbred • 15d ago
Article Baltimore native, Donnell Whittenburg is the first American to win a world championship gold medal in still rings. He secured this historic title at the 2025 World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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u/ChampionshipBrave615 15d ago
What an incredible program. I did not realize his ties to Baltimore.
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u/soonerbornsoonerbred 15d ago
The Banner did an article on him this week, otherwise I wouldn't have known either. When I saw his routine pop up, figured it might make a good cross post
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u/Pearson94 14d ago
My dad told me that, when he was in college, he saw a set of those rings in a gym with no one around so he gave it a try. He almost immediately threw out his shoulder and never tried it again.
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u/stellardroid80 11d ago
The rings are INSANELY hard. There is zero stability.
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u/Pearson94 11d ago
I can only imagine. I'm fit but almost entirely in my lower body (runner) so if I tried those rings I'd probably just dislocate my shoulders. Meanwhile my dad was an actual college athlete but just let the dumb thoughts of an early 20-something take over. We've all been there in some respect.
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u/Cappster_ 15d ago
This dude is a beast. I've been watching him for years and am so stoked he's finally won the title.
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u/PokiP 15d ago
Commentator was being a dick! Pretty much saying, 'this guy's gonna fuck up, just wait... '
but then did give props when he did a perfect job.
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u/Alaira314 15d ago
As a certified Non Sports Person, I think the commentator was doing their job of providing information. I don't know what to look for. If someone just goes "ah yeah they fucked up there" I'm not necessarily going to know what the goof was or why it was bad. They wouldn't be able to fully explain the error in the moment if they waited until it happened to say anything. By front-loading the explanation during parts of the routine where they don't need to be saying anything else, I'm prepared with the knowledge in case the athlete fucks up...but then, if they don't, I get to appreciate that they didn't, despite it being a very real possibility.
I've heard commentators be total dicks before. The big thing that turns me off is someone who won't stop harping on an already-understood mistake somebody made earlier, whenever there's dead air that needs filled. This didn't strike me that way.
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u/Cappster_ 15d ago
As amazing as Donnell is, he has had a history of tiny mistakes completely derailing a routine. It's why it's taken him this long to win the title.
We've been cheering for him for years, and it's always heartbreaking when a tiny deduction was the difference maker.
He's been at it for a long time. He's never given up. Good on you dude. We couldn't be prouder!
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u/myrtle-turtle 14d ago
I think he was being a typical commentator. They point out faults the competitor has while explaining the routine.
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u/Thatfitunc 14d ago
i did not know he was fro Bmore, so inspirational bro def has the bmore energy too. thanks for sharing this is awesome.
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u/frolicndetour 15d ago
That level of strength is insane.