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Olympic gymnastics recap: US men win bronze in team final, first medal in 16 years

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Olympic gymnastics recap: US men win bronze in team final, first medal in 16 years

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Editor’s note: This page reflects the news of the men’s gymnastics team final on Monday, July 29. Follow USA TODAY’s continued coverage of the Paris Games with live Olympics updates on Tuesday, July 30. You can also follow updates from the women’s gymnastics team final as Simone Biles and Team USA look for gold.

PARIS – For the first time in 16 years, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team has won an Olympic medal.

Buoyed by a resurgent performance from national champion Brody Malone, who competed in five of the six events, Team USA held off Great Britain and Ukraine to win bronze at the 2024 Olympics. Japan surged to gold in the final rotation, while China took silver.

“I can’t even describe it,” said Brett McClure, a silver medalist with the U.S. men in 2004 and now the team’s high-performance director. “I was rooting for them the whole way, every single routine just kept getting better and better and better.”

It’s the first time the American men have been on the Olympic podium since 2008, when Jonathan Horton led them to bronze. And ultimately, they finished closer to second-place China (1.3 points off) than they did fourth-place Great Britain (2.2 points).

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Stephen Nedoroscik, a pommel horse specialist whose only contribution to the team score came on the very last routine of the night, helped clinch the bronze for Team USA with a solid performance. But every member of the team hit clutch routines, including Paul Juda and Asher Hong on vault and Frederick Richard on high bar.

“Stephen was in the hardest seat of the entire competition, being last up on the last event, knowing that if you hit a routine, you’re probably going to medal,” McClure said. “And he did it.”

The Americans finished fifth at each of the previous three Summer Olympics, and they finished fifth again in Saturday’s qualifying. The difference on Monday largely revolved around Malone.

Malone, 24, had been expected to qualify for the all-around individual final and perhaps even contend for a medal, but he had a dreadful showing in qualifying – with falls on pommel horse, floor and even high bar, the event in which he won a world championship in 2022. It was such a jarring performance that some of his teammates later said he apologized to them afterwards.

“I know Brody’s a dog and a competitor,” Hong said. “So I know he’s going to come into team finals and full send.”

And he did. Malone improved upon or matched his performances on every apparatus, including a significantly better showing on high bar that helped keep the U.S. ahead of its bronze rivals. After falling twice on the apparatus in qualifying, he looked much more comfortable – and stuck the landing – for a score that was nearly two full points higher than his score Saturday.

“They went out and they did their job,” said Sam Mikulak, a three-time Olympian who now coaches Malone and Nedoroscik. “They went 18 for 18 … the part we’re most proud of is they didn’t count any falls. They showed heart. They showed heart. They enjoyed every step of it.

Hong, Juda and Richard, meanwhile, each competed in four events – each pumping up their teammates, and the crowd, between routines. Chants of “U-S-A!” rang out at Bercy Arena at multiple points over the course of the night.

“Once we got to pommel horse, that’s when it became real,” said Syque Caesar, who also coaches Malone and Nedoroscik. “We started crunching numbers and we’re like, ‘Just stay on this horse and we can do this.'”

Although China and Japan were long considered the favorites, the U.S. knew for months that it would benefit from the absence of Russia, which is banned from team competitions at these Olympics because of its invasion of Ukraine. The Americans knew the bronze medal was there for the taking. And they took it.

“We’re trending or trending in the right direction,” McClure said. “Obviously Japan and China are still in another category …  This is gonna be motivating. Extremely motivating. So, tonight, celebrate like you know we did something we haven’t done in so long, since 2008.

Hours before the men’s gymnastics team final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Stephen Nedoroscik solved a Rubik’s Cube in 9.32 seconds. It’s a hobby of his. And that time, for context, is quite impressive. “Good omen,” he wrote on Instagram. It was indeed.

In arguably the most pressure-packed situation that one could imagine in men’s gymnastics − the last routine of the last rotation of the Olympic final − Nedoroscik delivered in a big way Monday night, putting together a smooth, confident showing on pommel horse (14.866) that wrapped up the bronze medal for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team.

It was his only event of the night, on the apparatus he’s practiced exclusively since the waning days of high school. And when it was over, his teammates hoisted him into the air, and he raised his hands above his head.

“It was just the greatest moment of my life, I think,” Nedoroscik said. Read Tom Schad’s full story on pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik.

 Brody Malone didn’t spend much time reliving his disastrous performance in Saturday’s qualifying round at the 2024 Paris Olympics, nor much energy analyzing his mistakes.

“You’ve just got to forget about it,” he said. On to the next one. And in that next one, Malone was back to himself.

In a team final where the U.S. men’s gymnastics team had no major mistakes, boosting them to a first Olympic medal in men’s gymnastics since 2008, it was Malone’s resurgence that played the most significant role. The Americans improved their score from qualifying by 4.56 points. Malone, the only returning Olympian on the team, improved his personal score on five events by 4.07.

“The first night was a fluke for Brody. That’s not who he is,” USA Gymnastics men’s high performance director Brett McClure said. “I really believed I didn’t need to say anything to him other than, ‘Let’s get in this. Let’s get in this competition.’ And he was like, ‘Absolutely.’ He turned it around like he always does.” Read Tom Schad’s full story on Brody Malone powering the U.S. men to Olympic bronze.

For years, the U.S. men’s gymnastics teams would insist they were within striking distance of the podium, that they were thisclose to winning a medal.

Then they’d finish fifth at the Olympics, or a world championships, the moon feeling closer than Japan and China.

“When I look back at Tokyo, we had no medal potential,” said Sam Mikulak, a three-time Olympian who now coaches Brody Malone and Stephen Nedoroscik. “We had no start value, we didn’t have any difficulty.”

Iif the Americans ever wanted a medal, they were going to have to do more than talk. “We had to trust the process,” Mikulak said. “The first couple of years were rough.” It worked, though. The bronze medal hanging around the U.S. men’s necks Monday night is proof. Ready Nancy Armour’s full column on the U.S. men’s Olympic turnaround.

Here’s what Paul Juda said after the U.S. men won bronze in the team final: “The crowd chanting ‘U-S-A!’ is invigorating and you can’t you can’t ask for a better feeling. That gives you goose bumps. That tells you you’re doing the right things and after each routine when everybody’s gone, you have an idea it might happen but we only really knew after the last set.”

“Just hope that it shows promise, shows capability and shows that when you put trust in one another and you put the hard work in that things do happen.”

U.S. men’s gymnastics in medal position entering last rotation

The U.S. was sitting in third place with just one rotation left to go. That last rotation was in a notoriously tricky event: Pommel horse.

The U.S. had a 1.8-point lead over Ukraine, which was in fourth place, after a solid showing on floor exercise. Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Frederick Richard all notched scores about 14.100 on floor, with Richard’s routine the highlight. 

U.S. men’s gymnastics has monster high bar set 

What a difference a couple of days make. The U.S. men were in third place with two events to go thanks to a monster performance on high bar. 

Frederick Richard and Brody Malone improved their scores from qualifying by nearly three points, including a hit by Malone. The 2022 world champ on high bar has been struggling on his signature event all summe, but he came through when it counted most. And Richard was simply magnificent, his release series setting off chants of “USA! USA!” 

High bar: Paul Juda (13.366), Frederick Richard (14.833), Brody Malone (14.166)

The Americans are 1.201 points behind China after three events, with a score of 130.163. They got a big boost on parallel bars, where Asher Hong improved his score from qualifying by more than a half-point. Frederick Richard also picked up about 1.2 points, offsetting a slightly lower score from Brody Malone. 

It’s not just that the Americans were doing their jobs to this point, they were also getting help from the other contenders. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto fell off pommel horse in the second rotation. Britain had to count a 13.033 on vault and were 1.7 points back from the U.S.

Parallel bars: Brody Malone (14.433), Frederick Richard (14.566), Asher Hong (14.400)

Asher Hong amped after big vault

One of the keys for Team USA, and every team in this final, is to have its stars on each apparatus put up big scores. And Asher Hong certainly did that on vault, which is one of his best events.

Hong took a slight hop on his Ri Se-gwang vault — a full twisting, double back somersault — but nevertheless notched a strong score of 14.833, pumping his fist and yelling in celebration as he walked off the podium. Between that vault, Paul Juda’s stuck landing, and dramatic improvement on this apparatus by Brody Malone, the U.S. put up another strong showing and moved into first place in the overall team standings — at least for a brief moment.

Vault: Paul Juda (14.666), Brody Malone (14.533), Asher Hong (14.833)

The U.S. got to off to a solid start on still rings. Frederick Richard led off with a 14.033 — which was a half-point improvement on his rings score in qualifying — while Brody Malone and Asher Hong finished right around their scores Saturday. The result was a net positive of four-tenths for Team USA over qualifying, where they finished more than three full points behind third-place Great Britain.

Still rings scores: Frederick Richard (14.033), Brody Malone (14.166), Asher Hong (14.533).

When does Simone Biles compete next?

Simone Biles will next compete in Paris in the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday (12:15 p.m. ET). Here’s her full Olympics schedule: 

  • The women’s team final begins at 12:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 30. Biles will compete in all four events in the team final, even after tweaking her calf in qualifying on Sunday.
  • The women’s all-around final is at 12:15 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 1.
  • The women’s vault final is at 10:20 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 3.
  • The women’s balance beam final (6:36 a.m. ET) and floor exercise final (8:20 a.m.) are Monday, Aug. 5.

Stephen Nedoroscik to step into pommel horse pressure-cooker

There was a bit of controversy over Stephen Nedoroscik‘s inclusion on Team USA. He only competes in one event — pommel horse — but he is one of the best in the world on that apparatus when he hits.

That means there’s a ton of pressure for the Penn State product to nail his routine in the team final Monday.

The timing, or rather order of events, only further adds to that pressure. The Americans will go last on pommel horse, and Nedoroscik will be the third and final member of the team to compete. Meanwhile, Great Britain and Ukraine, who are expected to be Team USA’s biggest rivals for the bronze medal, will be on floor exercise — where Great Britain recorded the highest score in qualifying.

The rub: When Nedoroscik steps up to the pommel horse, there could very well be a medal on the line.

Olympic gymnastics schedule

Here is the complete Paris Olympics gymnastics schedule.

  • The men’s team final begins today at 11:30 a.m. ET.
  • The women’s team final begins at 12:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 30.
  • The women’s all-around final is at 12:15 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 1.
  • The women’s vault final is at 10:20 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 3.
  • The women’s uneven bars final is at 9:40 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 4.
  • The women’s balance beam final (6:36 a.m. ET) and floor exercise final (8:20 a.m.) are Monday, Aug. 5.

Frederick Ricahrd, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik are looking to end the Americans’ 16-year medal drought in the men’s gymnastics team final. Here’s what to know about them.

Olympic gymnastics scoring: How does it work?

A gymnastics routine gets two scores: One for difficulty, also known as the D score or start value, and one for execution. Every gymnastics skill has a numerical value, and the D score is the sum total of the skills in a routine. The execution score, or E score, reflects how well the skills were done. A gymnast starts with a 10.0, and deductions for flaws and form errors are taken from there. Add the D and E scores together, and that’s your total for an apparatus. (Vault scores will always be higher because it’s a single skill.)

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