USA gymnastics championships: Brody Malone leads after first night for a major comeback

FORT WORTH, Texas − Brody Malone is not usually one to show much emotion. When he finished his dazzling high bar routine, though, he let out a roar and clapped his hands together.

After what he’s gone through, he’s earned the right to let loose.

Less than 15 months since shredding his right knee, Malone is in position to win his third title at the U.S. championships. He finished the first night of competition with 85.950, 1.6 points ahead of Fred Richard. Day 2 is Saturday.

“I kind of lost it there,” Malone said of his show of emotion after high bar, the same event where his injury occurred.  “It felt really good. It was awesome to go up and hit a routine like that.”

Malone was fourth at the 2022 world championships, where he also won the title on high bar. But in March of 2023, Malone crashed on his high bar dismount at a meet in Germany. He suffered a tibial plateau fracture and tore his meniscus and LCL. He also partially tore his PCL. 

He would need three surgeries to repair the damage, and it hasn’t sunk in even for him the recovery he’s made. He returned to competition at the Winter Cup in February, doing pommel horse, still rings and parallel bars. He only decided to do the all-around here about three weeks ago and said his floor routine Thursday night was his “third, maybe fourth” full set.

But Malone is a competitor. If he was going to do the all-around, he was going to go full out.

“You’ve got to have confidence in yourself,” Malone said. “I came in with the mindset of, `I just need to do my gymnastics and let the scores fall where they do.’ I’m not coming in thinking, `I’ve got to win this.’ It’s just, do my own thing. Do the gymnastics that I’ve been preparing in the gym.”

Malone finished with the highest score of the night on high bar. He also was third-best on still rings and fourth on pommel horse, and was in the top eight on floor and parallel bars.

“This was just one competition. We still have another day to go and then we’ve got two more at (Olympic) trials,” Malone said. “So the work is not over yet.

“It was a good night. I’m very happy with it,” he added. “But I can’t get complacent.”

After what he’s been through, that is doubtful. 

Brody Malone leads after first night, scores big on high bar

FORT WORTH, Texas − A year ago, Brody Malone was getting ready for what would be the third surgery on his shredded right knee.

On Thursday night, he put himself in position to win his third title at the U.S. championships.

Malone finished the first night of the two-day competition with 85.95 points, 1.6 points in front of Fred Richard. Veteran Donnell Whittenburg is third, Colt Walker is fourth and Khoi Young is fifth after coming off pommel horse in the last rotation.

Day 2 is Saturday.

Malone started the meet slowly, looking tentative on floor after a hard crash during warmups. But he steadily climbed up the rankings and capped the night with a spectacular, high-flying routine on high bar, the event where he injured his knee in March 2023.

When he stuck his dismount, his body barely moving, his teammates let out of a big cheer. Malone roared and slapped his hands before leaving the podium. His 14.9 was his best score of the night and best of anyone on that event. Malone also had the third-best score on rings and fourth-best on pommel horse. 

Brody Malone in first with one event to go

FORT WORTH, Texas − Brody Malone said he wasn’t doing the all-around at these U.S. championships just for show. He wanted to win.

He’s putting himself in good shape.

Malone, who is doing the all-around for the first time since shredding his knee in March 2023, is in first place with one event left on Day 1 of nationals. With a score of 71.050, he’s 0.25 ahead of Khoi Young, a two-time individual medalist at last year’s world championships.

It should be a good finish, with Malone and Young both on their best events in the last rotation. Young is fourth on pommel horse while Malone will be last on high bar. 

Khoi Young moves up to first after high bar

FORT WORTH, Texas − Khoi Young’s success at the world championships last year helped propel him to the NCAA all-around title last month.

Might help win him a national title, too.

Young, who won silvers on pommel horse and vault in addition to the team bronze at worlds, moved into first after four events at the U.S. championships on Thursday night. The Stanford gymnast got off to a tough start, his right hand slipping through the ring on his still rings dismount, but he’s been making a steady climb since then.

High bar isn’t his best event, and he gave a half-grimace, half-smile when he finished. But his 13.75 is the highest score of the night so far on the event, and it gave him 56.650 points with two events to go. That’s 0.50 ahead of Stanford teammate Asher Hong. Brody Malone continues his impressive comeback, in third place with 56.50 points.

Yul Moldauer, who had led at the midway point, spun off pommel horse near the end of his routine and has dropped to fifth. 

Asher Hong, Yul Moldauer have 43.25 points after 3 events

FORT WORTH, Texas − Yul Moldauer has the lead midway through Day 1 of the U.S. championships.

But just barely.

Moldauer and reigning national champion Asher Hong both have 43.25 points after three events. But Moldauer has the tiebreaker for better execution. Both of them should keep an eye behind them, however. Khoi Young just scored a 14.9 on parallel bars to move into third place, and he still has pommel horse, his best event, to come.

Brody Malone continues to stay with the leaders. He’s in fifth in his first all-around competition since shredding his knee in March 2023. 

Yul Moldauer leads after high bar, his second event

FORT WORTH, Texas − Yul Moldauer is managing to keep his competitors at bay.

High bar isn’t Moldauer’s best event, but he did a serviceable routine and his score of 13.25 was enough to keep him in first. He’s at 28.65 after two events, slightly ahead of reigning national champion Asher Hong.

Brody Malone is third, followed by Shane Wiskus and Khoi Young. 

Yul Moldauer: What to know 

Yul Moldauer is looking to become a two-time Olympian after having competed in Tokyo, placing sixth on floor and helping the Americans finish fifth as a team. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is the 2017 U.S. champion, and was a two-time NCAA all-around champion at Oklahoma. He was part of the U.S. team that won bronze at last year’s world championships, and was also a bronze medalist on floor in 2017. 

Brody Malone starts off solid on floor exercise

FORT WORTH, Texas − Welcome back, Brody Malone.

The two-time national champion, who only decided last month to do the all-around following the serious knee injury that cost him most of last season, opened with a solid showing on floor exercise Thursday night. He scored a 14.0 that included a one-tenth deduction for going out of bounds on one pass.

More impressive is Malone did the routine after a hard crash in warmups before the meet. He was stretching out his right knee in the touch warmup, just before he went, and some of his landings were a little shaky. But his execution score of 8.4 should improve the more turns he gets on floor.

Malone was fourth in the all-around at the 2022 world championships, where he won the title on high bar. But he suffered a tibial plateau fracture and tore his meniscus and some ligaments on a high bar dismount in March 2023 and needed three surgeries to repair the damage.

Yul Moldauer leads after the first of six rotations. Khoi Young and Fred Richard, individual medalists at last year’s world championships, have some ground to make up after rough starts. 

When are the U.S. gymnastics Olympic Trials? 

June 27-30 in Minneapolis. 

What's at stake at the U.S. gymnastics championships 

Because this weekend's event is the last one before the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, it is an important showcase for everyone who is hoping to book a ticket to the 2024 Paris Games. 

On the men's side, the U.S. championships carry even more weight, because the scores accumulated there will factor in to the scoring matrices that will help pick the men's Olympic team. While the women's team is discretionary, the men's team is selected based on the best combined scoring scenario of five gymnasts, using data from the U.S. championships and Olympic trials. –– Tom Schad 

US gymnastics championships TV schedule 

• Saturday, June 1: Senior Men Day 1 – CNBC (Tape Delay) – noon-2:30 p.m. 
• Saturday, June 1 – Senior Women Session 2, Day 1 – CNBC (Tape Delay) – 2:30-5 p.m. 
• Saturday, June 1 – Senior Men Day 2 – CNBC LIVE – 8:00-10:30 p.m. 
• Sunday, June 2 – Senior Men Day 2 – NBC (Tape Delay) – 3-4 p.m. 
• Sunday, June 2 – Senior Women Session 2, Day 2 – NBC LIVE – 7-9 p.m. 

US gymnastics championships where to watch 

The first half of senior competition for both the men and women will air live on Peacock, which is NBC's streaming platform, and then on a tape delay on CNBC on Saturday — with the men's session airing from 12 to 2:30 p.m. ET and the women's session from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

The second and final session of men's competition will then air live on both Peacock and CNBC, while the second session of senior women's competition, which will feature Biles, will receive the most prestigious television slot: A primetime broadcast window on NBC on Sunday. –– Tom Schad 

When does Simone Biles compete at the U.S. gymnastics championships? 

Simone Biles will compete in Session 2. That means she, and the other big names on the women's side, will be in action starting at around 8 p.m. ET on Friday night and around 7 p.m. ET on Sunday night. –– Tom Schad 

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US gymnastics championships schedule 2024 

The senior men will compete Thursday night and Saturday night, with the women in action Friday and Sunday.  

Unlike the Olympics, where there are separate all-around and apparatus finals, the national championships will consist of two all-around sessions in each gender. More than 50 athletes will also be competing in the junior competition. 

• Thursday, 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET: Senior Men, Day 1 
• Friday, 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET: Senior Women (Session 1), Day 1 
• Friday, 7:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET: Senior Women (Session 2), Day 1 
• Saturday, 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET: Senior Men, Day 2 
• Sunday, 1:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET: Senior Women (Session 1), Day 2 
• Sunday, 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET: Senior Women (Session 2), Day 2 

Where are the 2024 US gymnastics championships? 

The U.S. championships will run from Thursday to Sunday at Dickies Arena, located a few miles west of downtown Fort Worth. — Tom Schad