Day One of the Paris Olympics Sees a Twist in the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics

A total of 96 gymnasts tackled six events in men’s gymnastics on day one of the Paris Olympics, and there were surprises for the U.S., which competed in the first of three subdivisions of the qualification round.

Results from qualification determines the lineup for the remainder of the competition, since the top eight teams, determined by adding the highest three scores from each team, move on to the team final, and the top 24 scorers compete in the all-around, with a maximum of two gymnasts from each country. The eight athletes with the highest scores in each event from the qualification round also compete in the individual event finals.

For the U.S., there was an unexpected change in the leader board. Frederick Richard, the world all-around bronze medalist, earned the highest scores on the U.S. team, followed by Paul Juda, his training partner at the University of Michigan. Brody Malone, the only returning Olympian on the squad, who was expected to be a contender for the all-around event, earned the lowest scores on three of the six events. Only gymnasts with the top 24 scores from the entire qualification round after three subdivisions are completed, can compete in the all-around final. After just one of three subdivisions, that’s likely to be Richard and Juda for the US.

“It was a great day,” Juda said. “To hopefully make an all-around final, that’s the cooler thing.”

“It means a lot,” Richard said of potentially being in the all-around final with Juda. “To have my closest teammate next to me is just exciting.”

Juda’s mother, Ewa Bacher, wasn’t even aware of the strong chance her son has of competing in the Olympic all-around final. “Really?” she said just after the U.S men finished. “I don’t know much about gymnastics; we don’t talk about gymnastics that much. I am just so happy for this kid. He has achieved so much but he’s still my kid, just my kid.”

The U.S. men began on one of their weaker events, the pommel horse, and it was a rough start for the only returning Olympian on the squad, Brody Malone, who came off the horse and had to restart his routine. Malone is the U.S. national champion, and was expected to make the all-around final in Paris. Malone quickly made up for the mistake on the next event, rings, with the second highest score among the American men behind teammate Asher Hong. But he continued to struggle throughout the session, coming off twice from the high bars, the event in which the won the world championship in 2022. The two-time national champion had a devastating knee injury during a competition in March 2023, and has only just recovered enough to train for a spot on the Olympic team.

The team also didn’t have strong landings on vault, with three of the four members competing on that event earning deductions for stepping out of bounds; only Juda successfully stayed within the bounds.

The British team, which are likely the U.S.’s closest competition in the team event for a medal, finished the qualification just ahead of the U.S. by more than two points, with the other medal favorites, China and Japan, competing in the qualification round later in the day.