FORT WORTH, Texas — Less than a year ago, American gymnast Brody Malone posted a video on Instagram of himself moving gingerly with a crutch under his arm and a massive brace on his right leg. The caption read: “Learning to walk, round 2.”
On Saturday night, with a bulky brace still wrapped around his leg, he left the Dickies Arena floor having won his third national all-around title – a feat made all the more impressive by the horrific injury he suffered. overcame to get there.
In a remarkably consistent and commanding performance, Malone maintained the lead he had built on the first night of competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships to win handily, posting an overall score of 172.300 that left a significant gap between him and the rest of the peloton. It proved that the 24-year-old is not only healthy enough to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics later this summer, but also that he might be the most surefire choice to make the team.
“It’s just amazing to be able, with everything I’ve been through, to be able to come back and make a comeback like I did and be competitive enough to be at the top again,” said Malone.
“Going through what I’ve been through, I’ve definitely learned to be grateful for every opportunity I have to compete. And so with that, I let loose a little more, I have a little more fun.”
Fred Richard, the reigning world all-around bronze medalist, finished second, just over two points behind Malone with a score of 170.250. And Khoi Young came third, with 169.550, followed not far by Olympic veterans Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskus.
They, and perhaps as many as 10 of the other top-performing athletes at this weekend’s national championships, will now be invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Minneapolis at the end of the month. Their two scores from each meet will be used to select the five-member team that will represent the United States in Paris.
“Let’s just say we’re going to be very deadly. It’s going to be a fun Olympics,” Richard said. “We’re fully armed, stronger than I’ve seen the United States in years. So I think we can go for medals.”
Malone’s return certainly strengthens the Americans’ chances. The Georgia native, who placed fourth at the 2022 World Championships, was a question mark due to his injury and said he decided only about three weeks ago that he would compete in the all-around this week-end. The road back was long.
Exactly 441 days ago, Malone suffered a catastrophic injury during a descent from the high bar during a competition in Germany, fracturing a bone, shredding his meniscus and tearing two of the four major ligaments in his right knee. He returned from Germany with an external fixation device protruding from his leg, holding the bones in place, and went straight to another hospital when he landed. In total, Malone has had to undergo three surgeries to repair all the damage to his knee, the last of which took place less than a year ago.
In a sport where running, jumping and landing on your knees are inevitable, Malone has stunned members of the gymnastics community simply by returning to competition – let alone at a similar level to before his injury.
“Absolutely blown away beyond belief,” NBC analyst Tim Daggett said Saturday night. “Most gymnasts probably would have stopped after this injury.”
Instead, Malone chose to not only compete, but compete in all six events. During the first evening of competition on Thursday, he shone on the high bar and parallel bars to build a lead of 1.6 points over Richard. Then, on Saturday, he recorded overall scores four-tenths of a point higher, including more than a point improvement on rings, vault and parallel bars.
“I don’t want to say it was uncertain how I was going to do it, but it was my first time back (overall). I didn’t really know how it was going to go,” Malone said. “But getting everything right on Thursday gave me a lot of confidence for today. It’s just another all-around meet. It’s just another gymnastics meet, nothing different.”
When asked how his knee felt after the competition, Malone admitted it was “definitely sore,” especially after a few crunches during his floor routine. He said he competed this weekend with two different knee pads: a bulkier one for the floor exercises and vault, which put the most strain on his leg, and another for the other four events.
“Just changing my braces is just a pain in the butt. I don’t like it,” Malone said.
With Saturday’s performance, Malone has now won three of the last four men’s all-around national titles, the only exception being the year he was injured. He’s grateful to be back, of course. But he added that completing two days of all-around wouldn’t have been enough.
“I didn’t come here just to show up and compete,” Malone said. “I wanted to win.”
Fred Richard finishes second
Richard, 20, had a bit of a rough start on the first night of competition, but showed marked improvement on Saturday night. He beat his scores from the first session on five of the six apparatus and doubled his score on the high bar (14.400).
The Michigan product said he didn’t anticipate any significant changes for testing, only “sharpening.” And he is not complaining about the way these American championships are going.
“I prefer first place, but I’m definitely happy with this week’s performance,” Richard said. “Great warm-up and it shows that I’m definitely in contention for the Olympics. Keep getting a little better for the trials, keep getting a little better for the Olympics and keep going.”
Khoi Young and Yul Moldauer present despite slight injuries
While Malone and Richard firmly asserted their inclusion in the Olympic team heading to Paris, several others strengthened their candidacy, including two gymnasts who are suffering from some injuries and bruises.
Moldauer injured his hip during a descent from the high bar earlier in the week and said Saturday night that “it still hurts,” likening it to lingering pain from a rolled ankle. But he still managed to finish tied for fourth, thanks in large part to two dominant performances on the parallel bars.
Khoi Young, who finished third, said he also felt a little banged up. He had a wrap in his left knee during his floor exercise, and Daggett reported on air that he was suffering from patellar tendinitis in his left knee.
Asked Saturday about his injury, the reigning NCAA all-around champion described it as “a chronic thing that’s been going on for a while.”
“I landed a really low jump in training for the podium and I think that fired it up a bit,” he said. “But there’s nothing structurally wrong with it. I just need to go home, do a little rehab, see my coach and I’ll be back, ready to compete in the trials.”
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.