The American men's gymnastic team earned bronze in Paris on Monday for its first medal since 2008. After qualifying in fifth place, the US men ended a 16-year drought to the delight of the dozens of fans waving American flags who chanted "USA! USA!" throughout the evening, the AP reports. The Americans posted a total of 257.793 points to edge Britain for the bronze. Frederick Richard and Brody Malone were at the top of their game, and every member of the US team contributed. Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist, joined his teammates on the final rotation.
The Japanese men's gymnastics team claimed gold with an epic comeback over its top rival. With China poised to claim its first Olympic title in 12 years with one rotation to go, Japan surged ahead to win the men's team competition Monday after an intense and nail-biting duel. The Japanese team, which trailed by more than three points going into the last apparatus, overtook its rivals after China's Su Weide fell twice off the horizontal bar and Xiao Ruoteng underperformed under pressure. Russia, which won gold at the Tokyo Games, is not competing in Paris because of its invasion of Ukraine.
The women's final, featuring seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, takes place on Tuesday. Dana O'Neil at the Athletic writes that while the men's team was a "model of consistency" on Monday, "maybe no one, however, earned the medal draped around his neck more than Brody Malone." Malone suffered what SI calls a "devastating knee injury" in March last year and had to relearn how to walk after several surgeries. In qualifications, he failed to advance to the all-around final or any individual events, but "when it counted, Malone came through," O'Neil writes.
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