U.S. Women's Gymnastics has won a medal in the Team All-Around competition in eight straight Olympics. However, the U.S. Men haven't brought how any hardware in the team event since 2008. The Stars and Stripes will try to change that this summer in Paris, led by Sarasota-based gymnast Brody Malone.
Malone is one of the most recognizable athletes on Team USA this summer. However, before he was a household name, Brody was just a super animated kid from Tennessee.
“I was one of those kids that had way too much energy doing flips on the couch," Malone said.
Little did he know those flips were a sign of his Olympic future. Brody's parents put him in gymnastics to help get some of that energy out. He also played soccer, basketball and baseball growing up, but once he got a little older, he wanted to focus all of his efforts on gymnastics.
“I made it a point to myself to work hard every single day," Malone said.
That work ethic helped Brody get through some of his toughest times.
In 2012, Brody's life was completely changed when his mother, Tracey, died of cancer. Then, just seven years later, his stepmother, Lynn, also passed away. Throughout all of the pain and turmoil, gymnastics was there for Malone.
“When he comes into the gym, he could separate his outside life to his gymnastics life," EVO Gymnastics head coach and Team USA assistant coach Syque Caesar said.
Malone went on to win seven national championships at Stanford University as well as countless other awards. He then qualified for Team USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was a dream for him ever since he was that young, energetic kid.
“My biggest takeaway was it’s just gymnastics," Malone said about his Tokyo experience. "It’s the same thing that I’ve been doing my entire life.”
While he didn't medal in Tokyo, Brody knew Paris was always attainable. So, he kept training and competing at other national and global competitions.
Then, just about a year ago, Malone ran into another hurdle, or rather, he fell on it. At the DTB Cup in March 2023, Brody landed funky while dismounting off of the high bar. He tore multiple ligaments in his knee and fractured his tibia. He says he can still remember the feeling that shot through his leg while it happened.
“I felt my knee go out, and it just felt like a lot of pressure and like a bang," Malone said.
Many thought it was a career-ending injury, Brody included.
“I was like, 'I don’t know if I am going to be able to make a comeback,'" Malone recalled.
“It was catastrophic, Caesar added.
Brody didn't want to give up his dream of making it to Paris, though. So, he moved down to Sarasota to rehab and train at EVO Gymnastics. It was there that he spent every day working hard to get his leg and body back into Olympic shape.
“That process was arduous," Caesar said. "It was very difficult.”
“You never really know how bad you want something until you get it taken away from you," Malone added.
The injury didn't end Malone's career, though. Less than a year after being stretchered off the floor, Brody was back on it competing. He qualified for his second Olympics at the US Gymnastics Trials and is now fulfilling his dream of going to Paris.
“It’s just an honor," Malone said about representing his country in the Olympics. "It’s just a blessing.”
Paris will be a new experience for Malone. He will be the only gymnast on the U.S. men's team who has been to the games before. The 24-year-old calls himself the "old man" and the team's "grandpa." Brody says he will try to take more of a leadership role this summer, compared to Tokyo.
"I'm going to try to take everything that I learned before and help the guys that haven't been through it," Malone said.
Team USA is hoping the grandpa's wisdom will help them bring home their first medal in the men's team all-around since 2008.
"He's hungry," Caesar said. "He got himself back there, and his goal is to get a medal."
“I think we’re in a very good spot," Malone added.
The gymnastics competitions from Paris begin July 27.