NOTE: Men's gymnastics competition begins at 10:30 a.m. CT. Watch live here and on NBC 5:
The U.S. men's gymnastics team will have their first chance at an Olympic medal in Paris Monday, with suburban Chicago gymnast Paul Juda expected to be a highlight in the competition following a surprising weekend display.
The USA men's gymnastics team will be competing in the men's team final competition at 10:30 a.m. CT at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The U.S. came to Paris believing it could return to the medal stand at the Games for the first time since 2008.
Despite a stellar performance from Deerfield's Juda, 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.
While the top of the podium figures to be a duel between superpowers China and Japan, the race for bronze is wide open.
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If the team can 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.
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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.
Malone, alongside Frederick Richard, was expected to compete for the U.S., marking what would likely be his final competition after coming back from a devastating injury. But Malone fell twice on high bar and once on pommel horse to scuttle his chances of returning to the all-around finals, a place that will be now be filled by Juda.
Richard and Juda, who are teammates at the University of Michigan, finished in 10th and 13th place, respectively, on Saturday - Richard with a score of 83.498 and Juda with 82.865.
“Of course I'm upset with myself,” Malone said. “But at the same time, I'm extremely happy for Fred and Paul. I know they're going to crush it.”
Juda won't be favored to finish on the podium in the individual all-around. He knows that. But he could have a bigger shot with the team on Monday.
The Americans, who finished third at the 2023 world championships ahead of Great Britain, ultimately finished second in their subdivision with 253.229. After Subdivision 2, with long-time rivals and goal medal favorites China and Japan, and Subdivision 3, the U.S. finished in fifth, qualifying them for a spot in the finals.
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 |
