2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials Day 1: Frederick Richard rises to the top

The final stop on the path to Paris is the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The action got underway with the first day of men's competition, where 20 men are vying for five spots on the Olympic team.

World all-around bronze medalist Frederick Richard started slow, but battled back to finish atop the leaderboard after Day 1 (85.600).

Three-time U.S. national all-around champion Brody Malone currently sits second (85.100) and Tokyo Olympian Shane Wiskus sits third (84.300).

See below for rotation-by-rotation results and highlights.

Rotation 1

No knee brace, no problem.

Three-time U.S. national champion Brody Malone couldn't have asked for a better start to his Olympic Trials, sticking his Kas 1.5 vault for a 14.600. Malone did so without his knee brace, which he has worn since returning from a major knee injury in 2023.

Asher Hong, 2022 U.S. national all-around champion, started the evening on still rings, which is one of his better events. He posted a respectable score of 14.450 - a strong statement to start his Olympic Trials.

The pommel horse gave several athletes trouble in the first rotation, including world team bronze medalist Yul Moldauer, who fell from the apparatus (13.100), and world all-around bronze medalist Frederick Richard, who had to fight to save his dismount (13.450).

Rotation 2

After starting the competition on the still rings, which is one of his weaker events, Khoi Young put up a huge score on vault - 14.950 - proving why he's an individual world silver medalist on the event.

Curran Phillips, who withdrew from the second day of the U.S. Championships with a thumb injury, is back like he never left. He followed up his 14.400 on vault from the first rotation with a 15.600 on his signature event, the parallel bars.

Donnell Whittenburg performs one of the most difficult vaults in the world. If he were to go to Paris, his Ri Se Gwang would be one of the main reasons why. However, he couldn't keep it to his feet, posting a 13.700.

Hong also performed the vault, taking several steps to stable his balance for a 14.350.

Shane Wiskus looked solid through the first two rotations. The Tokyo Olympian finished fifth all-around at the U.S. Championships and doesn't have a standout event, so being clean on all six events is critical for his Olympic team chances. So far, so good.

Rotation 3

Malone gets the job done on high bar - the event where he's a world champion from 2022 - posting a 14.300. He took a step on the dismount, but it was a solid effort to stay atop the leaderboard at the halfway point.

The momentum for Wiskus continued over on high bar as well. A Minnesota native, this is a home crowd for Wiskus and he's seizing the moment. He lets out a roar after landing his high bar dismount (13.550).

Moldauer vaults a clean Kas 1.5 with just a small hop. With a score of 14.500, this is definitely the highlight of his competition so far.

Hong needed to make a statement in Minneapolis after a less than stellar competition at the U.S. Championships, where he finished 10th. With a 14.650 on parallel bars, it's fair to say he's doing exactly what he needs to do.

TOP 10 - ROTATION 3

Rotation 4

Young ran into some trouble on high bar, bending his arms on a full Takemota. He managed to stay on the bar, but incurred a significant deduction as a result (12.100).

Meanwhile, Wiskus lit up the floor, capping off a stellar routine with a stuck triple twist dismount, good for a 14.350.

Through the halfway point Richard is playing catch up, a similar position he was in at the U.S. Championships a few weeks ago when he battled back from 21st in the first rotation to second when all was said and done. He was able to make up some ground with a 15.050 on parallel bars.

Malone posted a 13.750 on floor, not his strongest routine given he came in short on his second tumbling pass, but it's enough to maintain his lead.

Rotation 5

Richard put up a 14.400 on high bar, moving ahead of Malone on the event.

Stephen Nedoroscik, the 2021 world pommel horse champion, waited 1 hour and 48 minutes for his moment to shine, and although it was a hit routine, he did not compete his intended difficulty, only scoring a 14.450.

Moments later, Malone had his the first hiccup of the day, banging his leg on the horse. Miraculously, he was able to continue his rhythm and not come off the apparatus (13.450).

Hong went out of bounds on his third tumbling run, but otherwise nailed his floor routine (14.350) to move into the lead with one rotation to go.

Meanwhile, Young struggled on the floor exercise, only posting a 13.500.

Rotation 6

The sixth and final rotation was a nail-biter with just a half of a tenth separating Malone from Richard and Hong.

Hong survived his pommel horse routine, fighting through exhaustion with some minor form breaks to finish the day with a 12.800.

Malone finished strong on rings, showcasing clean execution throughout the routine with just a hop backward on his landing for a 14.250.

World pommel horse silver medalist Young ended the competition with two falls on the event, certainly not the outcome he was looking for to finish night one in 12th.

Richard sealed the deal with a electric floor routine, good for a 14.700 and the lead after the first day of competition.

TOP 10 - FINAL DAY 1

How does team selection for men's gymnastics at the U.S. Olympic Trials work?

The Olympic team will be named following the conclusion of the competition on Saturday, June 29.

The top all-around gymnast in the combined rankings from both days of competition can guarantee his Olympic spot, as long as he also places in the top three on at least three events.

USA Gymnastics high performance director spoke to the media ahead of Trials about the selection process.

"At the Olympic Trials, (there's) two days of competition. We'll combine the scores and also look at the results from the U.S. Championships a few weeks ago, to look at the top team scoring scenarios essentially," McClure said. "It's going to be a combination of the best scores on each apparatus, there's going to be some strategy to discuss - strengths, weaknesses and also what the rest of the world is doing - during that selection process and by Saturday night, 20 minutes after the end of the competition we'll have a team name."