Team USA got what they came here for.
For the first time since 2008, the United State’s men’s gymnastics team will be going home with an Olympic team medal.
Japan reclaimed the gold medal (259.594), getting back on the top of the podium after winning the silver in Tokyo. China will take home the silver (259.062) and the U.S. won the bronze (257.793).
From the very moment Frederick Richard drilled his dismount on rings, the energy was palpable. It was clear that the momentum was on Team USA’s side.
Rotation after rotation, routine after routine – Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Stephen Nedoroscik delivered without a waiver.
Nedoroscik, who had to wait over two hours to compete in his one and only event, sealed the deal on pommel horse. The 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, went lights out on the event where he is a four-time national champion and a world champion to deliver a 14.866.
"I had my coach by my side and he does a great job of taking the nerves out of (me) and he hypes me up," Nedoroscik said. "But these guys hit every routine before me and I have a statistic - when people hit before me, I also hit (my routine). So I went out there and did my job and I enjoyed the moment."
It's a storybook ending for Malone, who battled back from a rough day of competition during the qualification round to contribute critical routines for his team when it mattered most. Malone did not advance to the all-around or high bar final, making the team final his last performance in Paris.
"This is incredible," Malone said after the competition. "Coming off the day I had Saturday, that was probably one of my worst competitions I've ever had. But being able to reel it back in (today) for the team when it mattered is just everything."
Malone missed the majority of the 2023 season due to a devastating knee injury where he had to re-learn how to walk. At one point in time his chances of making it to Paris seemed uncertain. Now he will be leaving Paris - with his team - as an Olympic medalist. Mission accomplished.
It wasn’t a perfect day for either of the gold medal favorites – China and Japan. China held onto the lead for most of the competition and entered the final rotation with a little bit of a cushion. However, two falls from Su Weide on high bar dropped the team to second.