While the U.S. men’s gymnastics team didn’t win the gold, they won their first Olympic medal in 16 years Monday in a Paris storybook ending.
Frederick Richard, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik put in a collective effort to earn bronze in the men’s team final at Bercy Arena for the Americans’ first medal since the Beijing Games in 2008.
Paul Juda competes in the vault event of the artistic gymnastics men’s team final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on July 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
US’ Brody Malone (L) and Stephen Nedoroscik (R) celebrate after finishing third-placed during the artistic gymnastics men’s team final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on July 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
Japan took gold with 259.594, beating longtime rival China by just 0.532 points.
The U.S. finished with 257.793 points, comfortably ahead of fourth-place Great Britain.
“My goal even here was to make a statement that the U.S. is getting stronger and stronger and we’re only [going up],” Richard told reporters in Paris. “And I think we did that today. I think a lot of young boys watching are inspired by us.”
Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Frederick Richard, Asher Hong, and Stephen Nedoroscik of United States pose after winning the bronze medal. REUTERS2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
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Before the team’s final competition even began, the U.S. faced a six-point deficit due to their low difficulty marks but they didn’t record a major fall during any of their 18 routines in the final and finished closer to second-place China than fourth-place Britain.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” Brett McClure, the high performance director for USA Gymnastics, told ESPN. “Japan and China are still in another category. If we want to get better and push for first place in LA [in 2028], this is going to be extremely motivating.”
US’ Brody Malone competes in the parallel bars event of the artistic gymnastics men’s team final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on July 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
US’ Frederick Richard reacts during the artistic gymnastics men’s team final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on July 29, 2024. AFP via Getty ImagesThe U.S. men went from fifth in qualifying into third place with just one final rotation left having surpassing expectations already, but it was on a notoriously tricky event — the pommel horse.
Juda was the first of the three U.S. competitors and posted a score of 13.900 and Malone delivered with a 13.700 after a tough qualifying day with a 12.100 on the pommel.
Nedoroscik, a pommel specialist, was the final U.S. gymnast to perform. He stuck the landing and quickly smiled in celebration, knowing he had earned a medal for the Americans.
Nedoroscik scored a brilliant 14.866 to lock up the medal.
“We made it very clear from the get-go that we weren’t going to watch other teams. We weren’t going to watch anyone else’s gymnastics or worry about scores,” Malone told reporters in Paris. “That helps you stay in the moment. We had a team huddle after every event just to recenter ourselves. I was telling the guys, ‘It’s not over yet. We still have a lot more to do. Stay in our bubble and keep moving forward.’ ”
Similar to the 2008 group, this U.S. team is filled with young and first-time Olympians and endured struggles on the opening day of competition only to crawl back for a spot on the podium.
Malone, who was the only returning member of the team, was key for the U.S. turnaround and made up for his rare falls on the pommel horse and high bar during qualifiers.
“We had a meeting before the meet and told each other, ‘We’re just going to treat this like NCAA championships,’ ” Malone said. “We all come from NCAA backgrounds and know what it’s like to compete for a team, compete for a brotherhood, and it’s very easy to translate that to Team USA. That was our approach going into today and it worked out.”
Richard and Juda will compete in the all-around final at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
