Brody Malone had high expectations to prove himself at his second Olympic stint after a disappointing performance in Tokyo. After stellar performances in the World Challenge Cup and Pan American Games, expectations were sky-high. But Paris was a stumbling block to him. Although Malone had a good feeling about himself, he stumbled on the high bars twice and on the pommel horse once, thereby being eliminated from the all-around competition. He ranked 61st on the floor and 55th on the pommel horse.

However, Brody Malone’s grit helped the US men’s gymnastics team win bronze, ending a 16-year medal drought. His journey was not a small one, more so after a career-threatening injury. It is only now that the world learns that something even bigger threatened to end his dream of competing in the Paris Olympics.

In a video shared by a user on X on January 15, Brody Malone’s coach, Syque Caesar, opened up about the mask mystery. It turns out that before the Paris Olympics, Brody wasn’t feeling great at all. Syque recalled, “Brody was like declining in terms of like training. He’s like, ‘I’m just so tired. My hands are really hot. They’re like, really, my hands are hurting.'” Naturally, Syque was puzzled: “What do you mean your hands are hurting? You do high bar; they’re not allowed to hurt!”

Then came the shocking news: Brody had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Syque was in disbelief, saying, “I’m like, what? My two-year-old daughter got that. From daycare! What daycare is Brody hanging out at?” Brody was contagious, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. “Our flight’s tomorrow!” Syque thought, trying to figure out how to work around it. But the next morning, Syque received a call from Dr. Lowry: “Hey, he’s cleared.” Syque was stunned: “I’m like, what? Holy crap, are you serious?” In the end, Brody just had to wear a mask for a couple of days to recover, and everything was good to go after that. That’s the true story behind the mask!

Brody Malone didn’t hold back when talking about his first day at the Paris Olympics. On December 12th, during an episode of Undaunted. Life: A Man’s Podcast—he straight-up called it the worst competition he’s ever had. “Yeah, I mean, definitely the first day of competition was not good. That’s probably the worst competition that I personally have ever had,” he said, reflecting on the rough start.

“We knew going into it that there were going to be mistakes, and there was going to be a lot of nerves coming into play. And, for me especially, it was not a very good day. Like I said, it was the worst competition of my life. It was a pretty uncharacteristic performance, and I was very unhappy with it.” But let’s not forget this was a guy who was able to make it to Paris after fighting back from a terrible injury in 2023. It was honestly one of the biggest comebacks in gymnastics’ history. Of course, the beginning of the journey was far from perfect, but Brody’s trip to Paris was nothing short of amazing!

Brody Malone fights a gruesome injury!

Most people today know Brody Malone as that man who helped get the bronze for Team USA during the Paris Olympics, but it was not a walk in the park for him. Late in 2023, Brody’s world came crashing down when he fell from a high bar during the DTB Cup. He tried to land, but instead of a normal landing, he came down wrong on his right knee, which resulted in a broken right knee with a torn meniscus, tibial plateau fracture, partially torn posterior cruciate ligament, and fully torn lateral collateral ligament.

Three operations and numerous days on the bed were next, and the thought of him ever being able to walk again appeared to be a pipe dream. Yes, the Paris Olympics was in jeopardy for him, and some people even began to doubt whether the athlete had a future. But not Brody. “I don’t like to lose,” he said in an interview with Team USA back in those days, and you could feel the fire in those words. That spirit is what inspired his comeback. He returned to the gymnastics mat months later in June, at the US Championships, and it was nothing short of spectacular.

Not only did Brody Malone make a comeback, but he came back to win his third US Championship title. It was like watching a warrior rise from the ashes—he wasn’t done yet. Brody was more determined than ever, and his bronze medal win in Paris sealed it. So, what do you think about his epic comeback? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!