Tokyo 2020: Brody Malone wins first US gymnastics title, with Olympics in sight
- The 21-year-old Malone wins his first US men’s gymnastics title after shaking off an early miscue on parallel bars
Brody Malone’s summer calendar might be filling up quickly.
The 21-year-old won his first US men’s gymnastics title on Saturday night, shaking off an early miscue on parallel bars to post a two-day total of 170.700. The two-time NCAA champion’s victory gives him plenty of momentum heading into the US Olympic Trials in St Louis later this month.
Malone admitted on Thursday that he didn’t feel much pressure, calling competing for Stanford at the NCAA championships far more nerve-wracking. Staked to a sizable lead after a polished performance on opening night, he appeared ready to give it away after ending up on the mat in the middle of his parallel bars set, his first event during finals.
No matter. He responded by drilling his high bars set, where his 15.050 score was the best of the meet and the second-highest on any event.
Yul Moldauer, the 2017 national champion, overcame a mistake on pommel horse to finish second.
Six-time national champion and two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak atoned for an uncharacteristically sloppy performance by surging from seventh to third. Still, another fall on pommel horse during the second rotation ended any shot at cracking the top two. Mikulak’s all-around score of 167.400 included an 84.950 on Saturday that served as the best of the night.
