Team USA men’s gymnasts for the Paris Olympics have been selected.
After two days of qualifying during the 2024 USA Olympic Gymnastics Trials, the five team members were announced on Saturday, June 29, as Fred Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik.
The two traveling alternates were named as Shane Wiskus and Khoi Young.
Richard, a 20-year-old student, led the men’s heats — edging out Malone, the reigning national champion and a member of the men’s squad for the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Wiskus, who jumped during the trials, receiving often rapturous reactions from the crowd in Minneapolis, also competed in Tokyo.
After Richard in the first and Malone (24) in the second, Wiskus (25) was third in the trials, Juda (22) was fourth and Hong (20) was fifth.
“It [being picked for Team USA] it was just the best moment in my life,” Nedoroscik told reporters afterward, elated.
He is considered a specialist in pommel horse competition, while Young, a replacement, was first in show jumping.
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Richard, meanwhile, has all but promised a podium for his team once they get to Paris.
“I knew that whatever team was selected was a deadly team, and I can say that now that I really see it — this medal, it’s like we shouldn’t just aim for a medal. We should be aiming for gold,” he said. “And we’re going to land on something. That’s how I feel.”
If that happens, it would end a relatively dry period for the US men’s national team since 2008, when the team last reached the podium in gymnastics. Only three Americans have won an individual medal during or since 2008; and no one is at the last Games in Tokyo, 2021.
What has changed? In short, USA Gymnastics officials encourage their athletes through bonus points to increase the difficulty of their exercises in order to eventually raise their scores on the world stage where they have been surpassed by China, Japan and others.
“That’s been the whole goal for the last three years, since Tokyo. sincerely [I] I didn’t think we could do it, it was like maybe this was going to be LA’s way for a change [in 2028] as far as actual weight gain and things like that,” Brett McClure, a high-ranking USA Gymnastics official, told reporters.
“And they did it in time for Paris,” he said, “and now here we are getting ready to go there with a great team.”
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The men’s gymnastics team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics consisted of Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Wiskus and Alec Yoder, with the United States placing fifth in the all-around.
After qualifying for the final Olympic Trials, Malone then talked about how grateful Mikulak was for Team USA.
“Sam was super thankful for us,” Malone said at the time. “He said he’s never been on a team like this and he’s just had the time of his life out there and it’s great to have a team like this.”
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Team USA won back-to-back men’s team medals in 2004 and 2008, but hasn’t finished any closer than fifth in recent years — though this year’s team hopes to change that.
“We will bring the team medal home,” Hong said Saturday after the trials ended. “That’s the goal. … all the time.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.com and come to people.com for ongoing coverage. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics starting July 26 on NBC and Peacock.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education