MINNEAPOLIS — A year ago, Brody Malone was holed up at home, with little he could do but wait for his knee to recover from a career-threatening injury.
Thursday in Minnesota, the gymnast from Rockmart took a major step toward qualifying for his second Olympics.
Coming off a third national title earlier this month, the 24-year-old opened the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a close second-place finish, trailing leader Fred Richard by just half a point. He’ll have one last opportunity to show he’s worthy of one of the five spots on the U.S. team when the trials wrap up on Saturday.
Malone, whose all-around score of 85.1 was just shy of the two he put up at nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, isn’t dwelling on his Day 1 show.
“I take the mistakes from today, go back and learn from it, and just go do my gymnastics,” Malone said.
That Malone is even competing this week is an accomplishment in of itself. In March 2023, the gymnast was at a competition in Germany when his dismount from the high bar went awry. Landing awkwardly, he ended up with a dislocated knee, fractured tibia and torn ligaments.