Kameron Nelson: The 2025 World Championships Journey
12/9/2025 11:42:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Recent Ohio State gymnast, Kameron Nelson, recounted his first World Championships experience earlier this year.
Going out on the biggest stage, I know that I’m representing someone and something bigger than myself.Kameron Nelson
Former Ohio State gymnast, Kameron Nelson (’25), competed in his first World Championships this year as a member of the U.S. Senior Men’s National Team – a far cry from growing up doing trampoline in his backyard.
“I really want to be someone who pushes boundaries,” Nelson said. “I didn’t grow up traditionally, starting gymnastics at a young age. I did trampoline in my back yard. The legacy I want to leave is that even though someone didn’t grow up with all this stuff and a stable gym that you can still accomplish stuff that is great and you can do things that other people are doing.”
Nelson grew up watching Team USA on television, looking up to the gymnasts performing at the highest level. He didn’t realize until recently that he had what it takes to make it at that level and doesn’t take the opportunity lightly.
“I look back to when I was younger and I think of all those other athletes that were competing on the world stage. I looked up to them.,” Nelson explained. “Now that I’m at this level, that is why I get to not only show who I am as an athlete on the collegiate level, but now I’m on the big world stage. I’m one of the top gymnasts now so I feel like representing Team USA is about showing and representing an excellence – it’s just the next level.”
Gallery: MGYM 2025 World Championships
While there for the competition, Nelson made sure to take a look around him and take in the moment.
“My favorite part about being at World Championships is going there with all the other national team guys for Team USA and being able to really embody being a senior national team member,” Nelson recalled. “I think that’s something I’ve always dreamed about doing and didn’t really imagine myself fully doing until recently. Actually being out there was a lot crazier than I even imagined. I was there with all these people I used to watch growing up.”
Most of Nelson’s time in Indonesia was spent in the gym or the hotel, as that’s where the gymnasts ate most of their meals, but he did venture out to some of the local malls in between competition and meeting gymnasts from other countries.
“In the first few days that we were there, I didn’t talk too much to everyone because I’m a little bit shy but I did get to talk to Carlos Yulo, who won gold at the Olympics this past year and was also at Worlds,” Nelson said. “I got to talk to him a little bit and he’s a super nice guy – very humble person. Talking with people like that, Felix from Canada and other countries, I was talking to all of them and they were all very nice people.”
But in the sea of new people and a brand-new place, Nelson had someone by his side who has watched and helped him grow over the past five years – Ohio State associate head coach, Casimiro Suarez. Knowing that Suarez knew what it was like to compete at the World Championships and also knew how Nelson operated was the feeling that Nelson needed.
I decided that if I were to make World Championships from USA Championships that I would go with Cas [Casimiro Suarez] because he’s the one that led me up to that moment. Cas is an idol to me,” Nelson said. “I felt that it was really important for me to go there with him because he’s just like family. Him being there made everything feel a lot more comfortable. We can talk about the same stuff and he knows how my gymnastics is. I think he really helped with calming my nerves and feeling the most prepared that I could be. It was really special that I got to go there with him. I wouldn’t change how I chose to do it. I think it’s really cool because he’s been to so many World Championships and this time, he’s just there as a coach and got to share some of his experiences.Kameron Nelson
As the lights got brighter, Nelson fell back on the advice from Suarez – Nelson is there to do his job. It’s what they’ve been training for and isn’t anything special. Do what he’s been doing in practice.
Easier said than done. Nelson walked out into the gym and was the only one for that qualification day on floor so he was center stage with all eyes on him.
“It really felt like something bigger than it was,” Nelson recalled. “I made it seem a lot bigger than it was, it’s kind of like every other meet, but the idea of it being World Championships makes it a lot more of an experience. I’m there. I’m warming up. I can hear my breath. I can hear everything that Coach Cas [Casimiro Suarez] is telling me to do. Once I salute my hand for the routine – it’s instant, I’m going and then it’s over. It’s the quickest minute I’ve ever done. It was a really cool and really fun experience. I don’t really remember how the routine went when I was doing it, but it was crazy.”
What’s next for Nelson as someone who has one of the most difficult floor routines in the world?
“The next thing for me is honing down on my execution and really becoming a clean athlete instead of someone who is just going out and doing triples,” Nelson said. “I want to do the triples well and I want to do them better than anyone else. My next goal is to go to World’s again and be on the podium. I think that is what’s really fueling me this time around. Being fourth – I’m not going to let that happen again. If I’m going, I’m going for the top three. What’s next for me is becoming a cleaner all-around gymnast.”
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