Meet the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Team Headed to the Paris Olympics
The roster was announced after the second day of the men's qualifying
Jamie Squire/Getty The 2024 U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team, from left: Paul Juda, Fred Richard, Asher Hong, Stephen Nedoroscik and Brody Malone with the traveling replacement athletes, Khoi Young and Shane Wiskus
Team USA's male gymnasts for the Paris Olympics have been picked.
After two days of qualifying during the 2024 U.S. 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 college student, led throughout men's qualifying — edging out Malone, the reigning national champion and a member of the men's team at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Wiskus, who surged during the trials, receiving frequently rapturous response from a hometown crowd in Minneapolis, also competed in Tokyo.
After Richard in first and Malone in second, Wiskus came in third in the trials, Juda was fourth and Hong came in fifth.
"It [being picked for Team USA] was just the best moment of my life,” Nedoroscik told reporters afterward, elated.
He is seen as a specialist in the pommel horse event while Young, an alternate, came in first on vault.
Richard, meanwhile, all but promised a podium showing for their squad once they're in Paris.
“I knew whatever team was chosen is a deadly team, and I stand to say that now that I actually see it — this medal, it's like, we shouldn't be aiming for just 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 relative drought period for Team USA's men since 2008, the last time the team made it on the podium for gymnastics. Only three American men have individually medaled during or after 2008; and none did in the most recent Tokyo Games, in 2021.
What changed? In short, U.S. gymnastics officials have been encouraging their athletes through bonus points to up the difficulty of their routine in order to, over time, up their scores on the world stage where they have been outstripped by China, Japan and others.
“That was the whole objective over the last three years, since Tokyo. Honestly [I] didn't think we could do it, it was like maybe this is going to be an L.A. path for change [in 2028] as far as really increasing in difficulty and things like that,” Brett McClure, a top-ranking official with USA Gymnastics, told reporters.
"And they did it in time for Paris," he said, "and now here we are getting ready to head over there with a great team.”
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The 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s gymnastics team consisted of Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Wiskus and Alec Yoder, with the United States placing fifth in the all-around competition.
After qualifying for the last Olympic trials, Malone spoke at the time of how grateful Mikulak was for Team USA.
"Sam was just super grateful for us," Malone said then. "He said he'd never been on a team like this and he'd just had the time of his life out there and that it was great to have a team like this."
Team USA won back-to-back men's team medals in 2004 and 2008 but have come no closer than fifth in recent years — though this year’s team is hoping to change that.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.com and come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, beginning July 26, on NBC and Peacock.
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