Out Gymnasts Sam Phillips And Charlie Larson Both Earn All-American Honours At NCAA Finals
Two openly gay gymnasts, Sam Phillips and Charlie Larson, have taken All-American honours at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships. Phillips placed fourth on the horizontal bar for Illinois. Larson placed fourth on vault for Michigan. Both results qualify each athlete as a 2026 NCAA All-American.
The championships ran at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois on 17 and 18 April. Stanford reclaimed the team title with 329.825, ahead of Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois and Ohio State. Fred Richard of Michigan took his third straight all-around crown.
Sam Phillips keeps proving the point
Phillips’s fourth-place high bar caps a strong senior season for the Illini, who finished fifth overall. He is now a two-time All-American. We’ve followed his story before. In our earlier feature, we covered how Phillips faced homophobia while at Nebraska and transferred to Illinois, where he found “an inclusive space where I could be myself,” as he told Fighting Illini Athletics. His story is being documented in the film Becoming Sam Phillips.
Charlie Larson keeps Michigan on the podium
Larson’s fourth on vault helped the Wolverines clinch third as a team. It is also his second All-American honour. He was named Academic All-Big Ten for 2026 as well, so he is performing off the mat, too. If the name rings a bell, we covered his relationship reveal last year, when Larson went public with his CrossFit coach boyfriend Matthew.
Visibility on the biggest stage
Openly gay athletes competing at this level, on a nationally televised championship stage, matters. Men’s artistic gymnastics has historically been a discipline where gay athletes stayed private until retirement. Phillips and Larson are competing and placing, as themselves.
Collegiate gymnastics is tight. Fractions of a point separate podium finishers from also-rans. Placing fourth in a field of the top NCAA gymnasts in the country is a serious athletic result, and both men did it while being out and visible.
The 2026 championships close out Phillips’s collegiate run on a high. Larson still has eligibility on the clock and will be back for another tilt at a title.
