Team USA gymnast Paul Juda took full advantage of his Olympic debut in the men’s qualification, earning a spot in the all-around final.
Team USA shocked the world with their incredible performance in the men's gymnastics team final Monday, securing their first medal in the men's event since 2008 -- and doing it in a massive way.
The relatively young U.S. team — made up of Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik — finished with a score of 257.793, narrowly falling below China and Japan, widely considered top medal favorites for the event, but who both suffered major falls.
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Halfway through the men's event, Team USA sat in second place — though they remained in a tight battle heading into the final half.
The top of the podium was widely expected to be a duel between superpowers China and Japan.
The U.S. came to Paris believing it could return to the medal stand at the Games for the first time in 16 years — and they did.
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Despite a stellar performance from Juda Saturday, which saw him taking an unexpected new role as one of the two US. contenders for the individual all-around medals, topping U.S. star Brody Malone, the Americans had high hopes to move past a sloppy fifth-place finish during qualifications.
Now they'll head into the individual events with both Juda and Richard set to compete for the individual all-around.
