T-1 day to the grand opening of the Paris Games, and energies are high, and so is the training! Or is it? For the US men’s gymnastics squad, hoping to end a 16-year medal drought the first podium training on Jun 24th was met with a few roadblocks. What was supposed to be a trial version of how the final performances were going to stand out turned into a nightmare for some when they were finding it difficult to maintain balance and perfect landings in the arena.

Two primary criteria that need to be present for a perfect routine are apparatus arrangements and lighting. And it seems like both were quite off on the first day of training. In the US men’s squad, Brody Malone and Asher Hong experienced difficulties with their routines during Subdivision 1 Rotation 2 of men’s podium training. Malone over-rotated the tuck double-double, and Hong, despite being fresh and light on his strength moves, fell short on a double-twisting double layout and, thus, in turn, dove forward into his stomach.

It seems like instead of perfecting their routines, the gymnasts are having to spend more time getting used to the floor. During an interview after the training, Malone and Hong talked about the difficulties they faced. “Both Brody Malone and Asher Hong mentioned how they’re having to adjust to the light-colored flooring here. Asher said it messes with his depth perception, so it’s taking some getting used to,” Gymnastics Now tweeted after speaking to the athletes training in Paris.

Hong was performing one of the hardest vaults, Ri vault, in the men’s category when he was caught off-guard. Sharing their analysis, Inside Gymnastics also tweeted, “Little bit of a tough workout on Vault for the U.S. Hong in particular really struggling… rough landings on Ri vault and having issues with block off table it looks… Malone trying to help, giving him some notes.”

The U.S. gymnastics teams are also working to familiarize themselves with equipment from Gymnova, a leading French gymnastics equipment manufacturer. Previously, Team USA trained and competed on equipment manufactured by Spieth, which became an official sponsor of USA Gymnastics in January 2023.

The women’s team, however, has adjusted to the new equipment according to Chellsie Memmel – the women’s program technical lead. Speaking to Houston Chronicles on Tuesday she said, “The biggest thing (the athletes) actually said was a little bit of the beam, just because of the rounded edges and it’s a little more soft on top.” She added, “But they’ve all made their adjustments already. They can do it fairly quickly. So each each day in training looked a little bit better, a little bit tighter on all the skills.” 

The concerns over light-colored flooring could be worrying, especially for Brody Malone given he has overcome a devastating knee injury suffered last year in March. It is indeed a slip of a hand on the high bar during the DTB Cup in Germany that led to the dislocation of his knee.

He had torn multiple ligaments in his knee and fractured part of his tibia and it took three surgeries for the 24-year-old to make it to Paris in hopes of a first Olympic medal.

Amid the adjustment issues faced by the USA’s men’s gymnastics team, the rival teams are also trying to get used to the surroundings and new equipment at the venue.

While Japan’s Artur Davtyan, who medaled in Tokyo, said there were no significant issues with the setting in Paris, other athletes from the country are also trying to adapt themselves to the bars. “Everything is very good here in the Olympic capital,” Davtyan stated in a chat with NEWS.am Sport. “We arrived in the Olympic village on Sunday, July 21. We live in the Olympic village. We have already done the first trainings. It’s all good, tested the gymnastics apparatuses for training.” The 31-year-old noted, “Only the weather is not so stable, sometimes it rains or it is sunny.”

On the other hand, Takaaki Sugino said that bars made by Gymnova led to some issues with the timing of the release and regrip. However, he is gradually getting used to the equipment. “I became better and better as I practiced,” he said, according to Japan Times. Sugino has used Senoh products in the past, which are less bouncier than the floors made by Gymnova.

Meanwhile, the young US Men’s squad in Paris is aiming to improve on a fifth place in Tokyo and bring home a first medal since 2008.

US men’s gymnastics team looks to create history

Beijing 2008 was the last time the US men’s gymnastics team made it to the podium as they finished with a bronze medal, following a silver in 2004. But since then they have had three consecutive fifth-place finishes, something they will be keen to better in Paris.

In order to end the wait for a medal, the team has made their routines harder to bridge the gap. To move in that direction, the men’s team instituted a bonus program that gave more credit for more difficult skills. It did lead to some fruitful results, with the team winning a bronze medal at the world championships last year, a first since 2014

The team still sits behind Japan and China in the pecking order, but with Russia, which won the team title in Tokyo, not participating, the bronze medal is a realistic possibility for the Americans.

Now, each team’s capacity to adjust to these obstacles will be essential as the competition date draws near to the Paris Olympics. For the US men’s team, fans will hope they can adjust to the surroundings and equipment quickly so that they deliver on their promise.