Get to know Yul Moldauer: U.S. Men鈥檚 Artistic World Championship qualifier
GOLDEN, Colo. — Meet Yul Moldauer, a local resident with an exuberant personality who recently represented the United States at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and who is currently training for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan that will take place later this month! Thank you, Yul, for taking the time to answer a few of our questions.
It鈥檚 amazing how one small choice can exponentially alter a person鈥檚 life. Yul鈥檚 gymnastics journey began at age seven with a free class that he was invited to by a friend. He loved it and asked his parents if he could continue. Yul was encouraged in this by the coaches who, that day, saw his nascent ability right from the start. Eighteen years later, Yul is an Olympian!
Over the years, Yul鈥檚 goals have evolved. At first, he just wanted to make the youth team. As time went by and goals were achieved, his aspirations went from making it to state-level competition, to competing at Regional and National events, to making the National Team and one day the Senior National Team. One by one he鈥檚 achieved these objectives and this year made the Olympic team. His latest goal? Yul would like to be an Olympic medalist!
Let鈥檚 learn a little bit more about this most interesting local:
Yul is 25 years old and grew up in Wellington (CO), but his family later moved to Arvada and he graduated from Golden High School in 2015. Yul鈥檚 parents, Orsa and Peter Moldauer, adopted Yul from South Korea, and he is one of a family of six. He has three siblings (a younger brother and two older sisters) who have also demonstrated their athletic chops, between them participating in the sports of gymnastics, skating, climbing, and swimming! Family pets include two cats: a girl named Nala (from the Lion King) and a male named Mo.
When asked if his community has held a key role in his sports career, Yul offered an unqualified YES: 鈥淭he whole state has! The schools, the people, and the environment in Colorado have been amazing.鈥� He is very grateful to all those in his community, schools, and family who have supported him along this path. Yul says that, 鈥淎rvada will always feel like home to me because of all the opportunities and friendships it has given me.鈥� He currently trains at 5280 Gymnastics in Wheat Ridge.
We wondered what Yul鈥檚 best memory is from his gymnastics. While pausing to consider his many gymnastics memories, the moment that surfaced for him was from the NCAA National Championship competition in 2018. His team (University of Oklahoma) was gunning for their fourth consecutive national title, but they came into this particular competition at a disadvantage. Battling injuries, with more than half of the team recovering from surgeries, and all the other teams rooting against them, it was a potentially bleak moment. But, routine after routine, event by event through the meet, they rose to the occasion and achieved the impossible. They won the National Championship, and Yul had one of his best performances ever, earning FOUR individual national titles in the All-Around, Floor, Vault, and Parallel Bars events! It was a very heartwarming, incredible, and clearly memorable experience for him.
Gymnastic endeavors have taken Yul all over the globe: to Mexico, Canada, Germany, Doha, Tokyo, and Great Britain, among others. His favorite places so far, he says, have to be Montreal, Canada, and Stuttgart, Germany, where the architecture really wowed him.
Yul attended the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a business degree. One day, when gymnastics are behind him, he hopes to work in medical sales. He thinks he will really enjoy the interaction that this industry will provide with different people and organizations.
One would think that Yul would have no time for hobbies, but he is very intentional about making time for them as a way to create balance and avoid overthinking in his gymnastics. Music mixing is something that he is passionate about. Someday he would like to release his own music. He also enjoys working on his cars, playing video games, attending church, and hanging out at the lake playing various sports with friends (especially beach volleyball).
What is Yul鈥檚 guiding principle? He said he lives by the motto, 鈥淓mbrace the Grind鈥濃�攕o much so that he has printed it on t-shirts! Here鈥檚 what he says:
“I believe in this motto because I believe it takes a lot to become successful. No one will ever hand you success; you have to earn it day in and day out. Embracing the grind means that you take on whatever life gives you and you crawl, you battle, and someday you will make it to where you want to be. It’s not easy, but if you put your head down and work, you will accomplish things you never realized you could.”
These words are truly those of the Olympic spirit. We wish Yul the best in his coming endeavors, and will report back when he holds that elusive Olympic medal! Medal or not, this local man is clearly a winner.
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