{"id":649,"date":"2025-04-02T05:49:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T05:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/charlie-larson-already-a-national-champion-is-looking-for-more\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T05:49:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T05:49:31","slug":"charlie-larson-already-a-national-champion-is-looking-for-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/charlie-larson-already-a-national-champion-is-looking-for-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Larson, already a national champion, is looking for more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Charlie Larson is in his first season as an NCAA gymnast. But he is already a collegiate national champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a member of the 2024 Minnesota men\u2019s club gymnastics team, the now-sophomore from White Bear Lake, Minn. took home the <a href=\"https:\/\/minnesotagymnastics.org\/nationals\">GymACT<\/a> individual floor exercise title and with it delivered the Golden Gophers the team championship as well.<\/p>\n<p>Now at Michigan, Larson is the NCAA\u2019s top-ranked performer on floor and is looking to take home back-to-back titles, albeit at different levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt happened so quick,\u201d Larson told The Michigan Daily. \u201cThis whole season, I have been doing a watered down version of my routine. So to see this much success is an out of body experience, but it\u2019s very motivating. Knowing that I am number one right now, even if it doesn\u2019t last, it\u2019s a big confidence boost.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***<\/p>\n<p>Larson\u2019s gymnastics journey began at just 2 years old, after his early signs of interest drew curiosity from his parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe started jumping off the furniture,\u201d Larson\u2019s mother, Kris, told The Daily. \u201cSo we got him into gymnastics. He\u2019s got three older sisters, and they were all in it so we dragged him along, and he really loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charlie quickly immersed himself in the sport. As a kid, one of his go-to training partners was Suni Lee, 2020 Olympic All-Around gold medalist and member of the gold-medal-winning 2024 United States women\u2019s gymnastics team.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Charlie and Lee being the same age, he always watched in awe of her skills. As it turns out, he had an eye for talent.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d always watch her skills and be like, \u2018Oh god, I have to learn that next,\u2019 \u201d Charlie said. \u201cAnd we were both 8 years old. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unlike most men\u2019s artistic gymnasts, though, Charlie spent the first decade-plus of his career in trampoline and tumbling. He was a member of the U.S. national team that finished fourth at the 2021 World <a href=\"https:\/\/static.usagym.org\/PDFs\/Results\/2021\/t_21worlds_tu_team.pdf\">Championships<\/a> in Baku, Azerbaijan, and his flair caught the locals\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was in Baku, I was wearing a mask, my hair is long,\u201d Charlie said. \u201cOne thing led to another, I was being chased on the streets by people thinking I\u2019m Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet. I had people coming to my bus, trying to give me gifts. I took some, but I was like, \u2018I cannot let this boost my ego, because I\u2019m not that hot.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>While his experiences in the discipline were memorable, the NCAA doesn\u2019t sponsor trampoline and tumbling. There are, however, 15 NCAA member schools in men\u2019s artistic gymnastics, which caught Charlie\u2019s attention as a high-school sophomore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was still competing tramp and tumbling and training artistic on his own,\u201d Charlie\u2019s father, Todd, told The Daily. \u201cHe started going to the meets and came out of nowhere. He decided, \u2018Okay, I want to continue it through college.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Charlie had always seen himself as an elite artistic gymnast, and he was driven to compete at the next level \u2014 regardless of the discipline. Just a couple years after starting artistic gymnastics, he was planning to head to Oklahoma and walk on to the team that had finished in the top two at NCAA Championships 11 years in a row.<\/p>\n<p>But during vault warmups at U.S. artistic nationals in 2022, Charlie tore his MCL and broke his tibia, a set of injuries that required multiple surgeries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe went (to Oklahoma) when he was still recovering,\u201d Todd said. \u201cIt was a little too early, it wasn\u2019t a good fit, and it was very short-lived. Within two weeks, he was back home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His stint with the Sooners was brief as Charlie decided it wasn\u2019t the place for him to recover. Instead, he wanted to take a step back and go somewhere more familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Charlie arrived at Minnesota in the middle of the long, rigorous rehabilitation process, joining a Golden Gophers team that had finished fourth at GymACT Nationals the year before. Early on, he spent most of his time building the strength back up in his leg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that was the best decision I could have made,\u201d Charlie said. \u201cIt really gave me the time to recover fully and come back and get stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And he did come back stronger. Almost immediately, Minnesota coach Mike Burns saw the spark Charlie could provide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gives everybody in the gym an opportunity to drop their jaw,\u201d Burns told The Daily. \u201cEverybody in the gym is just like, \u2018Oh my god, that\u2019s what it\u2019s supposed to look like.\u2019 It\u2019s almost like he gives them permission to think that they can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the 2024 season began, Charlie quickly entered the Golden Gophers\u2019 rotation on floor and vault, and immediately found his stride. In his first meet of the season, he posted a 13.8 on floor, good enough for second on the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>His first event title came just a week later, when he put up a 14.7 on vault in a <a href=\"https:\/\/roadtonationals.com\/results\/scheduleGA\/meet\/7660\">tri-meet<\/a> against Iowa and Washington. The rest of the season, Charlie would take home at least one event title in all but one meet, including six total on floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The final event title of the year was the most important \u2014 and Charlie rose to the occasion. At the 2024 GymACT National Championship meet, Charlie dominated on floor. His 13.9-scoring routine that featured multiple double-back layouts scored four-tenths higher than any other, the same size as the gap between second and 10th place.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just four months into his career with the Golden Gophers, Charlie\u2019s floor title \u2014 along with a fourth-place finish on vault \u2014 was more than enough to propel Minnesota to a historic victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things you\u2019re looking for is dependability,\u201d Burns said. \u201cCan you count on a guy to raise his hand in gymnastics and hit his routine? That was what Charlie was like. I don\u2019t think he missed anything when he was competing for us. Everybody felt comfortable that he\u2019s going to hit his routine, and he did. That\u2019s just who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two years after suffering a devastating injury, Charlie was on top of the GymACT world. But he wasn\u2019t done \u2014 he was setting his sights even higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-6    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***<\/p>\n<p>The Michigan men\u2019s gymnastics team competes against Illinois annually at the Windy City Invitational, a multi-level, multi-day competition in Chicago. In 2024, the Wolverines took down the Illini by seven-tenths of a point. But Michigan coach Yuan Xiao was pulling double duty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota was also competing at the event, though not against the Wolverines. And while Charlie only competed as an exhibition, Xiao took notice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went to see (Charlie) compete at Windy City last year on the floor,\u201d Xiao told The Daily. \u201cI already felt like \u2018I like that kid. That kid should come to Michigan. He\u2019s national championship caliber.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several months later, following his and the Gophers\u2019 titles, Charlie began to imagine what could be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWinning floor there, that was my first big win ever in artistic,\u201d Charlie said. \u201cThat really opened up my mind to what was possible if I transfer to NCAA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And when Charlie put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, Xiao didn\u2019t hesitate to reach out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI contacted him and said \u2018I want you to be on our team,\u2019 \u201d Xiao said. \u201cWe gave him the time to visit Michigan and see how it looks and do other school visits too. And then he could make a decision. I said, \u2018I\u2019m not pushing you, but I\u2019d love to see you at Michigan.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charlie took visits to Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska. During his time in Ann Arbor, everything clicked. He loved how the Wolverines practices ran and how hard they pushed each other. Other teams didn\u2019t have the same drive as Michigan. On Oct. 9, Charlie announced his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/_charlielarson\/p\/DA6iBrBPfvg\/\">commitment<\/a> to the Wolverines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***<\/p>\n<p>Fittingly, Charlie\u2019s first time in the Michigan lineup was at the 2025 Windy City Invitational in January. He immediately proved he belonged at the NCAA level, finishing second on floor and just five-hundredths off the event title.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Charlie has been dominant. He has taken home the floor title in five of six meets, including each of the last three.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the Wolverines\u2019 victory over Ohio State on March 15, Charlie took the No. 1 spot in the country on the event. A week later, Charlie pushed himself further ahead of the field. Against Nebraska, he recorded a 14.85, the highest floor score in the country this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And he\u2019s still not done. Despite his high scores and high-flying routines, Charlie still has more skills in his bag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that we\u2019re tapping into the postseason, I have some tricks up my sleeve,\u201d Charlie said. \u201cThe triple double lay is making a comeback. I\u2019ve been taking my time with that one because it\u2019s a little bit hard on my body since I got that surgery. But now it\u2019s looking better than it was before. The hope is to add it back in and maintain good form.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the goal for Charlie \u2014 and Michigan \u2014 this season is winning national championships. But Charlie has a loftier goal, too. It\u2019s why he worked so hard to come back from his injuries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m gonna keep going,\u201d Charlie said. \u201cBecause my dream was always to go to the Olympics, and it still is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charlie\u2019s teammate, Michigan junior and 2024 Olympic Bronze medalist Fred Richard, thinks he can make it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he wants to be one of the best in the world on floor \u2014 he can do it,\u201d Richard told The Daily.<\/p>\n<p>As a Sooner and Golden Gopher, Charlie worked his way back from a significant injury, through several surgeries and claimed a national championship. Now as a Wolverine, he is looking to succeed at an even higher level.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, Charlie isn\u2019t done yet. He\u2019s just getting started.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charlie Larson is in his first season as an NCAA gymnast. But he is already a collegiate national champion.\u00a0 As a member of the 2024 Minnesota men\u2019s club gymnastics team, the now-sophomore from White Bear Lake, Minn. took home the GymACT individual floor exercise title and with it delivered the Golden Gophers the team championship [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[669,667,668,583],"class_list":{"0":"post-649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-champion","9":"tag-charlie","10":"tag-larson","11":"tag-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":651,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions\/651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}