University of Michigan gymnasts Fred Richard and Paul Juda will be returning to the United States with at least one Olympic medal.
The duo helped USA’s five-member men’s gymnastics team earn a bronze medal on Monday in Paris – the Americans’ first since claiming bronze at the 2008 Games.
USA finished fifth in Saturday’s qualifying round but delivered consistent standout performances during Monday’s team final to reach the podium with a score of 257.793, finishing behind Japan (259.594) and China (259.062) but ahead of Great Britain (255.527) and Ukraine (254.761).
Heading into their final rotation, pommel horse, the Americans looked to hold onto third place, and they did with three clutch performances. Juda, who missed the entire 2023 college season because of injury before returning in 2024 for his fifth year, scored a brilliant 13.900 – beating his Saturday score of 13.600. Brody Malone scored a lowly 12.100 in the event Saturday but bounced back in a big way in the finals with a 13.700. Pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik sealed bronze with a pristine 14.866.
Meanwhile, Richard, who won the all-around bronze at the 2023 World Championships and finished first at the U.S. Team Trials last month, recorded team-best performances on parallel bars (14.566), the horizontal bar (14.833) and floor (14.466). All three marks were higher than his Saturday scores. The budding star and social media sensation is only 20 years old and has two years remaining at Michigan.
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Juda also scored higher than his qualifying round marks in four events Monday.
Overall, USA surpassed its qualifying scores in 14 of 18 possible chances.
Richard and Juda will have a chance at an individual medal as well. They were two of 24 athletes to qualify for Wednesday’s all-around final by finishing 10th and 13th, respectively.
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Publish date : 2024-07-29 16:24:00
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