American men’s gymnastics star Brody Malone got off to a harrowing start on the opening day of the Paris Olympics.
Malone, 24, is the reigning U.S. national champion and the only returning member of the 2021 Olympic team. With his credentials, the Johnson City, Tennessee, native is seen as giving the Americans their best shot at gold in men’s gymnastics.
However, after some critical errors on the first day of competition at the Bercy Arena, including in her signature event, Malone will miss the individual final.
Malone’s day started with a fall on the pommel horse and went downhill from there.
After his initial fall, Malone suffered another mishap on the high bar, an event in which he won a world championship in 2022. The American missed the bar on a release move and stalled after catching it too close on another release before having to fall.
Brody Malone was knocked out of the competition on the first day of competition at the Paris Olympics
Malone fell on the pommel horse and high bar, missing the goal of Wednesday’s final.
The high bar sequence proved to be the nail in the coffin of Malone’s hopes of contention in Paris.
Wednesday’s eventing final will feature 24 athletes, with a maximum of two representatives per nation. With Malone in third place, Paul Juda and Frederick are in good shape to represent the U.S.
As a team, the Americans finished second in their qualifying group.
The U.S. team fell more than three points behind Great Britain but was not prevented from reaching Monday’s team final. The scores will then be reset and medals will be up for grabs.
On Saturday, there will be two more subdivisions of the competition, in which the powerhouses China and Japan have not yet taken the floor.