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.
NOTE: Spoiler alerts below. Men's gymnastics team final will re-air in primetime starting at 7 p.m. CT on NBC 5
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.
Carried by incredible performances from each member of the relatively young team, including suburban Chicago-native Paul Juda, the U.S. team exceeded expectations at the 2024 Paris Olympics Monday, finishing with a bronze medal.
The 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.
Suburban Chicago gymnast Juda continued to surprise and awe in the 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, before executing a solid routine on bars and floor.
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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.
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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 — and they did.
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.
