U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (2024)

Table of Contents
What to know about the U.S. Gymnastics Trials Meet the gymnasts representing the U.S. in Paris Picking an Olympic team is no easy job Richard is 'just taking it in' Juda's phone is blowing up Malone is determined to medal in Paris 'I had a good feeling I made this team': Nedoroscik Olympic alternates are Khoi Young and Shane Wiskus The Olympic team is... 1984 Olympians honored while we await the team announcement Shilese Jones is officially out of Paris contention Frederick Richard is going to Paris Stock is up on Shane Wiskus Asher Hong falls off the horse Khoi Young comes back from Day 1 disaster on pommels Beloved veteran Whittenberg gets a standing ovation Asher Hong looks like an Olympian today Nedoroscik may have just punched his Paris ticket The most pivotal routine of the day Other contenders for Paris 'Like a Xerox machine' Where's the music? Malone rallies on floor Brody Malone also in contention for top spot Frederick Richard is off to the races Rough start for Brody Malone Day 2 of men's Olympic trials has begun For men's selection, it all comes down to math Frederick Richard leads men’s competition after Day 1 Olympic hopefuls enter the arena Frederick Richard is ready to show the world what he and men’s gymnastics are made of Simone Biles leads Day 1 of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials as injuries rock Team USA How do team scores work in gymnastics? Differences in competitions between men and women Men hope to return to the podium in Paris FAQs References

By Kaetlyn Liddy

What to know about the U.S. Gymnastics Trials

  • U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials kicked off in Minneapolis on Thursday.
  • The reigning world all-around bronze medalist Frederick Richard clinched an automatic spot on the Paris Olympic team today by finishing first in the all-around and top three on three events.
  • Paul Juda, Asher Hong, Stephen Nedoroscik and Brody Malone were also named to the team. Khoi Young and Shane Wiskus are Olympic alternates.
  • The start of the first night of the women’s competition Friday saw several apparent injuries. Shilese Jones did not compete on the vault after falling short in warmups, and Kayla DiCello will miss the rest of trials after an Achilles injury. Today, Jones withdrew from the trials.
  • NBC News’ Kaetlyn Liddy is reporting on the scene from Minneapolis.
  • The U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games air live on NBC and Peacock from Thursday through Sunday.

Coverage on this live blog has ended. Please click here for the latest updates.

Meet the gymnasts representing the U.S. in Paris

Kaetlyn Liddy

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (2)

The men’s U.S. Olympic gymnastics team is favored to win its 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.

Read the full story here.

Picking an Olympic team is no easy job

Kaetlyn Liddy

Brett McClure, the high performance director for the men’s team, has done wonders for the U.S. men's gymnastics program since Tokyo, leading it to a team bronze medal at last year's world championships.

He and the athletes collaborated to implement the Olympic selection procedures, which prioritized a mathematical approach. Still, he said the process of making and breaking Olympic dreams is “never easy.”

“There are so many things that could factor in,” McClure said on Saturday. “Inquantifiables, intangibles, leadership and things that you can’t really measure.”

The Paris team has a lot of “great personalities,” he said. “We have an opportunity to make a splash in Paris.”


Richard is 'just taking it in'

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (4)

Kaetlyn Liddy

Rebecca Cohen

Kaetlyn Liddy and Rebecca Cohen

After clinching his first Olympic berth, Richard said the time between now and Paris is sure to be scary and filled with a lot of training, but he's "just taking it in."

"I'm on this journey every kid dreams of, and I dreamed of, so I'm grateful," he told reporters following today's round of trials.

Juda's phone is blowing up

Kaetlyn Liddy

Juda said he started to cry when he heard the first syllable of his name announced while backstage.

"My phone’s blowing up and I’m thinking about how I’m going to hug my mom and dad," he said of making his first Olympic team. "Every time I think about the word Olympian ... it's just a lot. Yeah, I can't even put it into words."

Malone is determined to medal in Paris

Kaetlyn Liddy

"It was kind of nerve-racking because they announced my name last," Malone said after the meet. "So it kind of scared me a little bit. ... I’m over the moon and just ready to get back in the gym and start getting ready to go over to Paris."

Malone acknowledged how the U.S. men's team's place on the world stage has shifted since his Olympic debut in Tokyo.

"We have a chance to win a medal, and that’s what we’re going to do," Malone said.

'I had a good feeling I made this team': Nedoroscik

Kaetlyn Liddy

Nedoroscik will perform just one event at the Paris Olympics —pommel horse — but he knew he nailed it.

"I had a good feeling I made this team," he said after being named to his first Olympic squad.

The Olympic team is...

Kaetlyn Liddy

Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik are going to Paris.

Olympic medalists Bart Conner and Paul Hamm announced the team.

1984 Olympians honored while we await the team announcement

Kaetlyn Liddy

The U.S. gymnasts who won the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics took the stage ahead of the 2024 Olympic team announcement.

Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar, Scott Johnson, Mitch Gaylord, Jim Hartung and Tim Daggett were on that team 40 years ago.

Shilese Jones is officially out of Paris contention

Kaetlyn Liddy

Shilese Jones, a front-runner for the women's team, has withdrawn from the Olympic trials after suffering an injury during vault warmups yesterday.

The six-time world medalist appeared to be a lock for the Olympic team for the past two years. USA Gymnastics announced during the men's competition today that Jones is out after receiving additional medical evaluation.

Read the full story here.

Frederick Richard is going to Paris

Kaetlyn Liddy

After a spectacular performance at these trials, Frederick Richard is officially an Olympian.

He clinched an automatic spot on the Paris Olympic team today by finishing first in the all-around and top three on three events. It's a waiting game for the rest of these athletes, whose fates lie with the selection committee.

Stock is up on Shane Wiskus

Kaetlyn Liddy

Shane Wiskus is not just beloved in Minnesota, but in the gymnastics community worldwide. Now, he may be on his way back to the Olympic Games.

Wiskus' crisp parallel bar routine is emblematic of a polished performance throughout these trials.

Asher Hong falls off the horse

Kaetlyn Liddy

After a stellar showing on his other events today, Asher Hong came off the pommel horse.

He scored a 11.750, but this is not a key event for Hong. Not good, but not catastrophic either.

Khoi Young comes back from Day 1 disaster on pommels

Kaetlyn Liddy

Khoi Young’s Olympic dreams seemed out of reach on Thursday, after a devastating two-fall routine on pommel horse. The winds may be changing for him today after he scored a 14.250 on the event — a pivotal showing.

Beloved veteran Whittenberg gets a standing ovation

Kaetlyn Liddy

Nobody here has flirted with Olympic glory more times than Donnell Whittenburg. He fell short in 2012, 2016 and 2020 despite competing at the Olympic trials.

He just scored 14.850 on floor, which keeps him in the conversation. Unfortunately, his stumbles on Thursday could keep his Olympic dreams at bay for a fourth time.

Asher Hong looks like an Olympian today

Kaetlyn Liddy

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (19)

Paris appears to be within grasp for Asher Hong, a member of the bronze medal-winning team at last year's world championships. His performance in Minneapolis today has helped redeem a disappointing outing at the U.S. Championships, where he finished 10th.

He is one of many athletes representing Stanford University at these trials.

Nedoroscik may have just punched his Paris ticket

Nedoroscik owned the pommel horse under Olympic-level pressure today after a clunky routine on Day 1.

His score, a 14.850, will mathematically put him on the highest-scoring team, so Nedoroscik's Olympic dreams may come true today.

The most pivotal routine of the day

Kaetlyn Liddy

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (22)

Stephen Nedoroscik will do just one routine today: the pommel horse.

It is a notoriously difficult apparatus and Team USA could use some help on the event. Nedoroscik could make the Olympic Team for this one event. Taking an athlete to Paris who can only perform one of the six events is a risk, but Nedoroscik is a world champion on the pommel horse.

His Olympic hopes hinge on this routine.

Other contenders for Paris

Kaetlyn Liddy

Wiskus, Paul Juda and Asher Hong rounded out the top five. Thursday night was all redemption for Hong after a disappointing 10th-place finish at the U.S. Championships.

Khoi Young, who was also a member of the bronze medal-winning team last year, topped the standings on the vault for the night with a 14.950, but fell twice on the ever-fickle pommel horse.

Yul Moldauer also climbed back from a fall on the pommel horse, scoring a world-class 15.050 on the high bar.

Parallel bars phenom Curran Phillips scored a 15.600 on the event — a score that would have won the gold medal at last year’s world championships.

Stephen Nedoroscik, a one-event specialist and world champion on the pommel horse, got a 14.450 in the event. That score is unlikely to clinch an Olympic spot for Nedoroscik, but he is capable of changing his fate with a hit Saturday.

'Like a Xerox machine'

Rebecca Cohen

Shane Wiskus kicked off his floor routine with the same two tumbling passes as Malone. Both hit their skills so well that the announcers said Wiskus' runs looked like they were made "like a Xerox machine."

The Minnesota native scored a 14.600 on the event.

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (24)

Where's the music?

Kaetlyn Liddy

No, the sound system isn't broken. Unlike female gymnasts, male gymnasts tumble sans music on the floor exercise. There is no dancing allowed in their routines either, only acrobatics.

The men tumble in silence, punctuated only by the roar of the crowd at each stuck landing.

Malone rallies on floor

Kaetlyn Liddy

After a rare miss on the high bar in the first rotation, Brody Malone recovered well on the floor exercise. Despite the large brace strapped to his leg, every tumbling landing was clean and confident.

He improved his score from Thursday, scoring a 14.350 to regain the second spot in the all-around behind Richard.

Brody Malone also in contention for top spot

Kaetlyn Liddy

Malone led for the first half of the competition on Thursday but finished half a point behind Richard.

Malone is on track to make his second Olympic team after having battled a serious knee injury last year. He started off Thursday night with a stuck landing on the vaultand hit his best event, the high bar, on which he won a world title in 2022.

Frederick Richard is off to the races

Kaetlyn Liddy

Richard kicked off his afternoon on the parallel bars, where he scored a 14.800. He looks poised to repeat his stellar all-around performance on Thursday.

Rough start for Brody Malone

Kaetlyn Liddy

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (30)

The reigning U.S. national all-around champion, Brody Malone, fell on his best event in the first rotation, the high bar.

His spot on the Paris team should be safe, but it's not the tone he wanted to set tonight.

Day 2 of men's Olympic trials has begun

Kaetlyn Liddy

Official routines have begun. Donnell Whittenburg put two difficult vaults to his feet after falling on Day 1.

Whittenburg, who is eyeing his first Olympic berth, has been a crowd favorite for three Olympic cycles now. He is the oldest competitor here at 29.

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (32)

For men's selection, it all comes down to math

Kaetlyn Liddy

Unlike the women's gymnastics team, the men's team competing in Paris will be determined almost exclusively by numbers.

Scores from four days of competitions – both days of U.S. Championships and both days of Olympic Trials – will factor into Olympic selection. The lowest score on each apparatus will be dropped for each athlete and the remaining scores averaged.

“It’s going to be a combination of the best scores on each apparatus,” High-performance director Brett McClure said Wednesday. “There’s going to be some strategy to discuss strengths and weaknesses and also what the rest of the world is doing.”

The athletes who produce the highest potential score in a Team Final format will likely become the Olympic team.

Frederick Richard leads men’s competition after Day 1

Kaetlyn Liddy

The U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trialskicked off in Minneapolis on Thursday, with reigning world all-aroundbronze medalistFrederick Richardleading the men’s competition.

Richard, 20, a Massachusetts native, is not only a star on the floor exercise, but he also has a dedicated following on TikTok, where hedocuments his journeyas an Olympic hopeful. He placed first on floor and high bar and third on parallel bars.

Olympic hopefuls enter the arena

Kaetlyn Liddy

The gymnasts in contention for the U.S. Olympic team are entering the Target Center to compete in the final day of men's trials. Each gymnast is individually announced ahead of competition, which kicks off in about 20 minutes.

Frederick Richard is ready to show the world what he and men’s gymnastics are made of

Rebecca Cohen

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (36)

Frederick “Flips” Richard has been captivating audiences on social media for years and has big plans for the sport’s future.

Now a rising junior at the University of Michigan, where he trains and competes, he’s on the precipice of fulfilling a dream shared by many young athletes.

“I want to enter the Olympics with the whole country knowing, like, that’s Frederick Richard, like this man is going to do it,” he said.

Read the full profile of Richard here.

Simone Biles leads Day 1 of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials as injuries rock Team USA

Kaetlyn Liddy

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (38)

Simone Biles is four routines away from making her third Olympic team.

She led her Olympic and club teammate Jordan Chiles by 2.5 points after the first day of the women's competition at the Olympic trials. Reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee rounded out the top three.

The women’s gymnastics team competing in Paris will benamed on Sunday, but the selection committee will have to go back to the drawing board after three front-runners were injured in the lead-up to Friday’s competition.

Read the full story here.

How do team scores work in gymnastics?

Kaetlyn Liddy

In the qualification round at the Olympics, four gymnasts from each five-member team compete on each apparatus, with the three highest scores counting toward the team total.

The top eight teams in qualifications advance to the finals, where three athletes from each team compete on each apparatus and all scores count.

Differences in competitions between men and women

Kaetlyn Liddy

The five-member men’s Olympic team will compete on six apparatuses in Paris, while the women will compete on four. The top all-around finisher in the women’s competition automatically makes the team, but the men will be required to finish first in the all-around and in the top three on at least three events.

No male gymnast did that at the U.S. Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, but Richard did Thursday. If he repeats that Saturday, he won’t need the selection committee to decide his fate.

The selection committee will consider the top team-scoring scenarios using both days of trials, as well as the U.S. Championships.

Men hope to return to the podium in Paris

Kaetlyn Liddy

The U.S. is eyeing its first Olympic medal in men’s gymnastics since 2008 this summer. By the end of today, a five-member team will beselected to go to Parisfrom one of the most talented pools of American gymnasts in years.

Kaetlyn Liddy

Kaetlyn Liddy is a newsroom coordinator for NBC News Digital.

Rebecca Cohen

contributed

.

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named (2024)

FAQs

U.S. Gymnastics Trials: The men’s Olympic team has been named? ›

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.

Who made the U.S. men's gymnastics Olympic team in 2024? ›

Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas), Paul Juda (Deerfield, Ill.), Brody Malone (Aragon, Ga.), Stephen Nedoroscik (Worcester, Mass.) and Frederick Richard (Stoughton, Mass.) won the first U.S. men's team Olympic medal since taking bronze in 2008.

Who made the U.S. men's gymnastics Olympic team? ›

The U.S. men's gymnastics team ended a lengthy Olympic medal drought. They hope the NCAA notices. PARIS (AP) — Before they stood with their arms wrapped around each other in a brotherhood forever etched into U.S. Olympic lore, Brody Malone, Frederick Richard, Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Stephen Nedoroscik were collegians ...

What is the nickname for the U.S. gymnastics team? ›

Team captain Simone Biles, who initially said the team name was “F-Around and Find Out” during a post-meet news conference Tuesday, took to X to reveal that the team's official name is the “Golden Girls.”

How many men make the US Olympic gymnastics team? ›

(June 29, 2024) – USA Gymnastics on Saturday afternoon named the 2024 U.S. Men's Olympic Team Presented by Xfinity, introducing five gymnasts and two traveling replacement athletes who will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Who is the best male gymnast in the world 2024? ›

Shinnosuke Oka of Japan took home the gold medal in the men's gymnastics individual all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Oka won with a score of 86.832, edging out the rest of the field where the top four competitors were separated by less than a single point.

Who is on the team USA in 2024? ›

USA Basketball finalized its men's roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 12-player roster includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard*, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Derrick White and Tyrese Haliburton.

Who is on the men's gymnastics team roster for 2024? ›

Meet the team
  • Asher Hong (Stanford).
  • Paul Juda (Michigan).
  • Brody Malone (Stanford).
  • Stephen Nedoroscik (Penn State).
  • Frederick Richard (Michigan).
Jul 25, 2024

What team won the Olympics in 2024? ›

With their victory, the U.S. now closes the Paris Olympics tied with China atop the gold-medal leaderboard with 40. Of Team USA's 40 gold medals, 26 were won by female athletes, meaning women were responsible for 65% of Team USA's gold medal victories at the Paris Olympics.

Who got bronze in gymnastics at the 2024 Olympics? ›

American Jordan Chiles had originally finished fifth, but a last-second inquiry (as a result of a leap not getting credited) bumped her score by one tenth to give her the bronze (13.766) over Romania's Ana Barbosu (13.700).

What is gymnastics for boys called? ›

Men`s Artistic Gymnastics is sport discipline, where exercises are executed on 6 apparatus (Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar).

What do you call a gymnastics person? ›

A gymnast is a person who trains in and practices the sport of gymnastics. If you become a gymnast, you'll learn to walk and jump and even do cartwheels on a balance beam. Athletes who participate in gymnastics are gymnasts.

What are gymnasts short? ›

Just how short are elite gymnasts? The average height of a medal-winning gymnast in the Women's Artistic competition at Tokyo 2020 was just 5ft 1in.

Is the U.S. men's gymnastics team good? ›

The US men's team's bronze win in the Paris 2024 Olympics left many awestruck at athletes they underestimated or didn't know much about. The American women gymnasts have outperformed the men in the Olympics for decades.

How is the men's Olympic gymnastics team chosen? ›

The all-around champion at the end of the two-day competition can secure his spot by finishing in the top three on three events. However, the remainder of the team selection isn't solely based on all-around rankings; it's a strategic decision.

How tall are the U.S. men's gymnasts? ›

The average height for male gymnasts typically ranges from 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 8 inches (162 to 173 cm).

Did Ian Gunther make the Olympic team? ›

Unfortunately, no. Ian Gunther did not secure a high enough score at the 2024 U.S. Nationals to advance to the U.S. Olympic Trials. The Paris Olympic team was determined based on performances at these two pivotal competitions.

Did Brody make the Olympic team? ›

Brody Malone helped Team USA win a bronze medal in the team event, the first men's team gymnastic medal in 16 years. Team USA captured its first Olympic medal in the men's gymnastics team event in 16 years Monday thanks in part to former Stanford University star Brody Malone.

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