American gymnast Brody Malone had a heartbreaking start on the opening day of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Malone, 24, is the reigning U.S. national champion and the only returning member of the 2021 Olympic team. With his qualifications, the Johnson City, TN, native is considered the one who gives the Americans their best chance at gold in men’s gymnastics.
However, after a few crucial mistakes on the first day of the competition and at the Bercy Arena, including his most important event, Malone will miss the individual all-around final.
Malone’s day started with a fall on a pommel horse and went downhill from there.
After his initial fall, Malone suffered another mishap on the high bar, an event he won a world championship in 2022. The American missed the bar on a release move and got stuck after hitting the bar too close on another release, forcing him to fall off.
Brody Malone crashed out of contention on the opening day of the Paris Olympics
Malone fell on the pommel horse and the high bar, missing out on Wednesday’s final
The high bar session proved to be the nail in the coffin of Malone’s hopes of competing in the Paris race.
The all-around final on Wednesday will feature 24 athletes, with a maximum of two representatives per country. With Malone finishing third, Paul Juda and Frederick are in a strong position to represent the U.S.
As a team, the Americans finished second in their qualifying group.
Team USA trailed Great Britain by more than three points but stayed on track to reach Monday’s team final, when scores are reset and medals are up for grabs.
There are two more divisions of the competition on Saturday, with the major powers China and Japan not yet in action.
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