The US female side of gymnastics has dominated the sport for quite a long time. This has been possible through amazing gymnasts like Simone Biles. This has seen the country win the medal in the team category in pretty much every single edition. However, this is not the case with the male gymnastics team, who have struggled to muster up even a single medal in any category at times.

This is why when the US men’s gymnastics team won the bronze medal in Paris, it was a big deal as the team had managed to win a medal after sixteen years. Thus, they received huge praise from everyone involved in the sport. One of these members was Brody Malone. The gymnast had the hardest path to the Olympics as he had to face a career-threatening injury. He spoke about his mentality at that time during a podcast.

Talking to Teton Ridge, Brody Malone spoke about his injury and how it affected him before the Olympics. He believed that his faith in God helped him fight through the whole unfortunate event. Brody started this journey back in the 2022 World Championship when he won the gold medal in the high bar gymnastics event. However, he wasn’t as happy as he thought he would be.

He said, “I’m sitting there, and I’m like, like, I’m happy for myself, you know, but I’m like, there’s something missing inside, you know? And it was at that moment I realized, and my dad helped me realize this too: if you put your purpose and your mission and you try to find fulfillment and things like this, you’re never going to be fulfilled. So I realized that it was; you’re only going to find your true fulfillment in Jesus.”

He believes his faith then helped him recover from the terrible injury that could have forced him out of Paris. For him, he believed that he was not doing gymnastics for himself but for the higher purpose given to him by God.

He further felt that his Olympic performance was meant more for his faith rather than the medal. This mentality was the reason for him escaping his injury and his bronze medal, according to him. Thus, faith seems to have helped him a lot.

Brody Malone’s injury that threatened his gymnastics career

While most people would now only remember him as a winner of the bronze medal for the male gymnastics team in the Paris Olympics, Brody Malone had suffered a serious injury before recovering from it. The accident which led to the injury occurred in the DTB Cup 2023. It happened when he fell off the high bar while attempting to dismount. However, Brody tried to land, and this is where he got injured.

The gymnast broke his right knee, which came with a torn meniscus, tibial plateau fracture, partially torn posterior cruciate ligament, and fully torn lateral collateral ligament. This made him take three surgeries and numerous days of bed rest. Through this, he could finally walk again, but barely with crutches. Thus, not only was his 2023 season over but his Olympics campaign was also cast in doubt. Some even said that his career might be over.