UPDATE: The men's gymnastics all-around team final has finished with a stunning medal podium. Here's what happened.
Suburban Chicago gymnast Paul Juda continued to surprise and awe in the men's gymnastics team final event at the 2024 Paris Olympics Monday.
The 23-year-old Deerfield native managed to flawlessly complete a critical vault routine for Team USA, joining his teammates in lifting the U.S. closer to its first return to the medal stand since 2008. Juda finished the event with a score of 14.666.
Halfway through the men's event, Team USA sat in second place - though they remained in a tight battle heading into the final half.
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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.
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Despite a stellar performance from Juda Saturday, which saw him taking an unexpected new role as one of the two U.S. contenders for the individual all-around medals, topping U.S. star Brody Malone, the Americans are hoping to move past a sloppy fifth-place finish during qualifications.
If the team can continue to bring their A-game on Monday, they stand a chance.
On Saturday, Juda showed just how much he was capable of as he consistently nailed each and every event he performed in.
Tasked with serving as the leadoff on five of the six events for the five-man American team — a spot reserved for gymnasts known more for their consistency and reliability than anything — Juda put together an all-around total of 82.865 that was good enough to earn a berth in the all-around finals next week.
Here's how the top eight teams rank heading into finals:
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE |
| 1 | China | 263.028 |
| 2 | Japan | 260.594 |
| 3 | Great Britian | 256.561 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 253.893 |
| 5 | USA | 253.229 |
| 6 | Italy | 249.764 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 249.662 |
| 8 | Canada | 247.794 |
