West Fowler won the men's double mini-trampoline world title at the 39th Trampoline & Tumbling World Championships in Nanjing on Saturday. The 18-year-old delivered a first-round score of 30.600 and closed with a 30.200 on his final pass, ahead of Russia's Ilia Penkin and Aleksandr Butko.
The pass that decided the crown
Fowler's final routine was not his cleanest. "When I landed, it definitely wasn't my best pass," he said, "but I knew with these finalists it could go either way."
The field had narrowed when the 2025 champion and compatriot Ruben Padilla received a 0.000 in Final 2. That removed the three-time reigning champion from the medal positions. Penkin seized silver with 28.600, and Butko took bronze despite a fall on landing.
"I was just super ecstatic when the score came up," he said.
Three medals in two days
The gold capped a prolific weekend for the Gulf Breeze gymnast. On Friday he scored 30.800 to help the US men's double mini team to bronze. He returned less than 30 minutes later to post a 29.700 and earn a second team bronze in the tumbling competition.
Fowler's rise has been brisk. He won his first international medal at the 2022 age-group worlds in Sofia, joined the senior national team in 2025, and took individual double mini bronze at the Pamplona worlds with 28.800. The 2026 field included 367 gymnasts from 39 countries.
On the podium, with the US anthem playing, Fowler closed his eyes and let the moment settle. "It was such an amazing feeling," he said. The title marks his first as a senior world champion at 18.
