Kaden Brown Wins Tumbling Bronze at Worlds in Nanjing as Utah's Delegation Finishes

Herriman's Kaden Brown is a world medalist again. Brown won bronze in men's individual tumbling at the 39th Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships in Nanjing, China, on Saturday, Nov. 7, scoring 28.900 in the deciding round of the final. Portugal's Vasco Peso won gold with 31.000 and Azerbaijan's Tofig Aliyev took silver with 29.700, according to the official results.

USA Gymnastics counts it as Brown's fourth individual tumbling medal at a World Championships and the 12th Worlds medal of his career. A day earlier he had helped the U.S. men win team tumbling bronze. The United States left Nanjing with six medals, two gold and four bronze, and Brown was part of two of them.

Five U.S. senior athletes with Utah ties were on the team in Nanjing. Four of them train at Wasatch Trampoline and Tumbling in Draper.

How Kaden Brown won world bronze

Brown was in the medal hunt from the first day. He placed third in the first qualifying round on Nov. 4 with 57.400 over two passes, then scored 30.100 in the second qualifying round, second behind Denmark's Magnus Lindholmer.

The final ran in two stages. In the first, Brown scored 30.000 and placed fourth, the last of the four spots in the medal round. Aliyev led that stage with 30.900, ahead of Peso (30.500) and Lindholmer (30.300).

The medals were decided by the second stage alone. Peso posted 31.000, Aliyev 29.700 and Brown 28.900, while Lindholmer fell back to 23.900. Brown climbed from fourth to bronze.

It extends a long run at Worlds. Brown won individual tumbling bronze in 2019 and 2021 and silver in 2023, and he placed fourth individually at the 2025 Worlds in Pamplona, Spain, according to USA Gymnastics. He is a seven-time U.S. champion and won the World Games tumbling title in 2022 and 2025. His USA Gymnastics biography lists the University of Utah, where he earned a Master of Athletic Training.

Team tumbling bronze, and a fourth-place finish to close

On Friday, Nov. 6, Brown, West Fowler, Kaleb Cave and Xavier Harper won team tumbling bronze. Brown's pass of 31.100 was the highest individual score on the U.S. team, according to USA Gymnastics. The U.S. scored 20 team points, behind Azerbaijan (25) and Denmark (24). At the 2025 Worlds, the U.S. men had taken team tumbling silver.

Brown also tumbled in the team all-around final that closed the championships on Sunday, Nov. 8. The United States finished fourth with 46 points, behind Russia (64), China (59) and Portugal (56), according to the official result sheet.

How did Ruben Padilla do at the 2026 World Championships?

Bluffdale's Ruben Padilla came to Nanjing as the three-time defending world double mini champion, with titles in 2022, 2023 and 2025. He was on course for a medal again. In the first stage of the men's double mini final on Nov. 7, Padilla scored 30.400, second only to U.S. teammate West Fowler's 30.600.

In the medal round he could not complete his routine and finished fourth. Fowler won his first world title with 30.200, the only score above 30 in that round, and Russia's Ilia Penkin (28.600) and Aleksandr Butko (20.500) took silver and bronze.

Padilla still leaves with a medal. On Nov. 6 he won double mini team bronze with Fowler, Trevor Harder and Rafael Pikofsky-Christiansen; Russia won with 26 points, Portugal had 22 and the U.S. 19.

He also reached two synchro finals. With Elijah Vogel he placed fifth in men's synchro at 50.700, behind Russia (54.710), Great Britain (53.990), Belarus (53.030) and China (51.580). With Maia Amano he placed seventh in mixed synchro, according to USA Gymnastics. In individual trampoline, the event in which he won world silver in 2025, Padilla scored 58.660 in the first qualifying round and did not advance.

Akela Magee, Ashley Matern and Isaac Rowley

North Ogden's Akela Magee, the 2026 U.S. tumbling champion from Northern Star Bounder, scored 23.900 for the U.S. women's tumbling team that finished fourth on Nov. 6, alongside Tia Taylor and Amelia Gasper. Russia won the event, ahead of Belgium and France. In individual qualifying, Magee placed 43rd with 35.400.

Lindon's Ashley Matern, the 2025 U.S. champion, was on the women's tumbling team roster but was not among the three athletes who scored in the team final. The individual qualifying sheet lists her as a non-starter, and neither USA Gymnastics nor the result sheets gave a reason.

Riverton's Isaac Rowley competed in individual trampoline, scoring 56.520 in the first qualifying round, which did not reach the next round. He had been registered for men's synchro with Vogel in the federation's October entry list, but Padilla partnered Vogel in competition.

What comes next: Junior Worlds in Nanjing

The next generation is up next. The Junior World Championships and World Age Group Competitions run Nov. 12-15 at the same venue, the Nanjing Yangzi River International Conference Center.

Seven of the eight U.S. junior tumbling selections list Utah hometowns, according to the USA Gymnastics roster: Sophie Bolos (Farr West), Anya Brooks (Ogden) and Ingrid Campbell (Mountain Green) from Northern Star Bounder; Soren Campbell (West Haven) and Sylus Harper (Farmington) from Flip Side Tumbling; and Hutch Page (South Jordan) and Avery Schmidt (Draper) from Wasatch. Schmidt is also selected in double mini. Indiana's Bentley Zillmer is the eighth.

Our preview of the senior championships, with each athlete's background, is here.

Key facts:

• Event: 39th Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships, Nanjing, China, Nov. 4-8, 2026
• Kaden Brown (Herriman, Wasatch): men's individual tumbling bronze, 28.900 in the deciding round (Nov. 7); men's team tumbling bronze with a team-high 31.100 (Nov. 6); fourth individual Worlds tumbling medal and 12th Worlds medal, per USA Gymnastics
• Ruben Padilla (Bluffdale, Wasatch): double mini team bronze; fourth in individual double mini after scoring 30.400 in the first stage, second to U.S. teammate West Fowler; fifth in men's synchro with Elijah Vogel (50.700); seventh in mixed synchro with Maia Amano
• Akela Magee (North Ogden, Northern Star Bounder): 23.900 for the fourth-place U.S. women's tumbling team
• Ashley Matern (Lindon, Wasatch): on the women's tumbling roster; listed as a non-starter in individual qualifying
• Isaac Rowley (Riverton, Wasatch): individual trampoline, 56.520 in qualifying
• U.S. medal total: six (two gold, four bronze)
• Next: Junior Worlds and World Age Group Competitions, Nanjing, Nov. 12-15; seven of eight U.S. junior tumblers have Utah hometowns