Stanford, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State: Those were the names spectators heard over and over on the first day of men's competition at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials at Target Center.
Of the 20 men's gymnasts who competed in the trials, 17 are current NCAA gymnasts or recent graduates. The other two, Kiran Mandala and Kai Uemura, are headed to Stanford University. The competitors come from just seven college programs, and there are only 15 men's varsity programs in the country.
Fred Richard, 20, of Michigan, led the individual all-around with a score of 85.600 and earned the highest score of the night on floor exercise.
But the veteran gymnasts made their moves. University of Minnesota graduate and Tokyo Olympian Shane Wiskas of Spring Park took third with 84.300 points, followed by fellow Tokyo Olympian Brodie Malone with 85.100.
The 24-year-old Malone won her third U.S. all-around title earlier this month, beating Richard by more than two points. Malone was returning from a serious leg injury suffered in March 2023 that was thought to be ending her athletics career.
The men will compete again on Saturday afternoon. Their scores will be combined with Thursday's scores by a selection committee that will choose the five-man Olympic team and reserves to compete in Paris. The selection committee will take into account athletes' performances at U.S. Championships and Olympic Trials, as well as their best scores in the team, all-around and individual events.
The 25-year-old Wiskas was greeted by a roaring hometown crowd as she was introduced for the final time of the night. Fittingly, the soundtrack to “My House” played as Wiskas competed on the horizontal bar. After finishing her floor exercise, which earned her the third-highest score of the night (14.350), Wiskas cupped her hands over her ears to cheer the crowd on. And they responded. After completing her final event of the night, the rings, Wiskas left the stage pumping her fist and yelling, “Let's go!”
Fellow Michigan athlete Paul Judah placed fourth with 84.150 points, and Stanford athlete Asher Hong placed fifth with 83.700 points.
