Nickname
Sam, Hollywood, Sosa [after baseball player Sammy Sosa]. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 31 Dec 2015; intlgymnast.com, 09 Aug 2015)
Occupation
Business Owner
Education
Psychology - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Family
Partner Mia Atkins
Spoken languages
English
Club
US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center [Colorado Springs, CO, USA]
Coach
Andriy Stepanchenko [personal] (flogymnastics.com, 24 Sep 2018)
Sporting relatives
His parents Stephen and Tina competed in gymnastics for the University of California, Berkeley in the United States of America. (mgoblue.com, 19 Apr 2012)
Injuries
In 2021 he was dealing with a bone chip in his right elbow that can get lodged in the joint. He treats it with cortisone injections. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 03 Jun 2021)
In February 2017 he suffered an Achilles tendon injury, which ruled him out of the 2017 American Cup in Newark, NJ, United States of America. He returned to competition in August that year. (USA Gymnastics YouTube channel, 16 Aug 2017; intlgymnast.com, 19 Feb 2017)
In October 2015 he suffered an ankle injury in training that forced him to miss the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 10 Oct 2015)
He broke both his ankles at the same time in mid-2011. (fig-gymnastics.com, 06 Mar 2015)
Start sporting career
He first tried gymnastics at age two. (mgoblue.com, 19 Apr 2012)
Reason for taking up the sport
"My parents were gymnasts so from the time I could walk, they were teaching me skills." (usagym.org, 2012)
Ambitions
To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and to open his own gym in Charlotte, NC, United States of America. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 02 Aug 2020; wcnc.com, 14 Apr 2021)
Awards
He received the Prize for Elegance at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. (usagym.org, 11 Oct 2019)
He was named the 2011 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. (mgoblue.com, 19 Apr 2012)
Additional information
General
MENTAL STRUGGLES
He participated in a mental health panel presented by USA Gymnastics in May 2021 during which he shared his struggles with mental health. Prior to the panel, he revealed some of his issues, including a mental breakdown after 2016, on his Instagram account. "I had to pick myself up and reprioritise so many aspects of my life. My whole life goal has been to be as happy and positive as possible. I had a 'fake it till I make it' mentality. I began to resent myself for ignoring the bigger issues instead of facing them head on. I've mastered portraying happiness without actually feeling it. I have always hated conflict, especially within myself. It's taken years to find help and confront my problems. I only wish I could have sought out help earlier. I worked so hard and sacrificed so much because I thought success would lead to happiness. Instead of doing it for fun I was competing to fill a void. I now know that even if I got everything, it wouldn't be enough because I didn't know how to love myself. If you can be happy with nothing you'll appreciate everything." (Instagram profile, 19 May 2021; Instagram profile, 20 May 2021)
TOKYO FINISH
In August 2020 he announced that the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will be his last tournament before becoming a coach or opening his own gym. "This has to be my final year of gymnastics because I don't want to ruin myself beyond this sport. For so long, I've been sacrificing, and I'm sick of it. I'm really looking forward to being able to be free from gymnastics and being able to do all these things that I've been putting off in my life for so long." (insidethegames.biz, 03 Aug 2020)
NAMED ELEMENT
In 2011 he performed a move on the parallel bars that had never been done before. However, he learned that the move had to be completed at an official International Gymnastics Federation [FIG] meet for it to be named after him. He then broke both ankles and was forced to miss the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where Brazilian Sergio Sasaki performed the move and it was named after him. Mikulak was disappointed, so he made sure to not make the same mistake the next year, when he completed what is now known as a 'Mikulak' on pommel horse at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The move is a double scissor forward with a hop from one end of the horse to the other. (teamusa.org, 03 Oct 2012)
OCCUPATION
He is co-founder of Mikulak Clinics, a business that offers men's artistic gymnastics training. (mikulakclinics.com, 26 Apr 2020)
Last update : 2021-06-23
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