MINNEAPOLIS — The men’s U.S. Olympic gymnastics team is favored to win their first Olympic medal since 2008.
The men’s team was named at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis on Saturday: Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik are going to Paris.
The Olympic alternates are Shane Wiskus and Khoi Young. They barely missed the official team, but are still considered Olympians by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Richard, the reigning world all-around bronze medalist led the all-around standings after both nights of the trials. Richard, 20, a Massachusetts native, is also a star on TikTok, where he documented his journey to the Paris Olympics. He secured an automatic Olympic berth after finishing first in the all-around and top-three on three of the six events.
U.S. national all-around champion Brody Malone led for the first half of the competition but finished two-tenths of a point behind Richard.
Despite struggling on his best event, the high bar, in the first rotation, Malone had a strong all-around showing and made his second Olympic team. He missed last season after battling a serious knee injury, which nearly extinguished his Paris hopes.
Nedoroscik punched his Paris ticket with just one pommel horse routine.
He is a world champion on the apparatus and could contend for a medal in Paris. Pommel horse is notoriously fickle and Nedoroscik’s prowess on it clinched his Olympic spot despite the fact that he is a one-event specialist.
Hong, a standout at Stanford University, will make his Olympic debut after strong performances on the still rings and vault. It will also be Juda’s first Olympics.
Minnesotan Shane Wiskus charmed the hometown crowd, exceeding expectations by finishing third in the all-around and first on floor. Despite his performance, he will settle for an alternate spot after representing the U.S. in Tokyo in 2021.
