Aiming to end the 15-year medal drought in Paris, the USA men’s artistic gymnastics team relied heavily on Brody Malone. Accumulating a total of 170.300, Malone looked firm as he took the second spot in the US trials to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Unfortunately, on the opening day of men’s artistic gymnastics qualifiers, subdivision 1, Brody was not found in his usual form. 

After putting up a subpar performance, Malone is currently standing 5th in the men’s parallel bars with 14.533, 18th in the men’s high bars (12.233), and 4th in the men’s clean rings (14.233).  Unfortunately, with his latest fall (twice) on the high bars and pommel horse (once), he is now out of the all-around finals, leaving only Fred Richard and Paul Juda with the responsibility of breaking the curse, with the U.S. currently standing behind Great Britain in men’s gymnastics qualifiers.

The United States last won an Olympic medal in men’s gymnastics way back at the 2008 Games in Beijing. The team of Kai Wen Tan, Justin Spring, Jonathan Horton, Joseph Hagerty, Raj Bhavsar, and Alexander Artemev clinched bronze to put the USA’s name in the medal tally. And this is where the contributions of Juda and Richard will come into play. 

Both Fred Richard and Paul Juda have so far started on a high note. Competing in the horizontal bar, Fred Richard scored 14.166 to secure 3rd position. Paul Juda too, impressed significantly, scoring an all-around total of 68.899 to finish 3rd after the conclusion of rotation 5. According to the latest updates, after the completion of 6 rotations, the USA stands second in the all-around rankings with 253.229. Great Britain tops the charts at 256.561 and Canada follows suit with 247.794 at third position. Meanwhile, as disappointing as Brody Malone’s performance has been, his journey to the Olympics has been nothing short of a miracle. 

Brody Malone recovered miraculously, Courtesy: Serena Ortiz

March 2023 was a nightmare for Brody Malone. Competing at the DTP Pokal Team Challenge, Malone fell down while dismounting from the high bar. The crash was devastating, as the gymnast fractured the tibial plateau in his right knee. He also suffered from a torn meniscus, an LCL, and a partially torn PCL. Rushed to the hospital, Brody Malone’s Paris dreams looked all but over. 

However, that is when his lady luck came into play. Brody Malone detailed in an exclusive interview with The Knot that Serena Ortiz took care of her partner 24/7. She catered to each and every need of the gymnast, helping him to make a speedy recovery. Malone also reflected on the fact that during this phase, he got much closer and developed a strong bond with his fiancee. Thus, even though Brody Malone will leave Day 1 of Paris disappointed, the full credit for the fact that he was able to put up a show for his country goes to Serena Ortiz.