What to know ahead of men’s gymnastics finals at Paris 2024

PARIS – The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are in full swing for men’s gymnastics.

After three qualifying subdivisions, the lineups for the men’s team, all-around, and event finals are set. It was an explosive day of competition, with incredible performances from countless countries across every event.

As anticipated, Japan and China have already taken off ahead of the competition, cementing themselves as the gold medal contenders. Leading the pack with a 263.028, the Chinese team had a strong first showing in Paris. With knockout performances from Zou Jingyuan on parallel bars, where he’s the defending Olympic champion, and rings and Zhang Boheng on high bar, they have shown the world that they will be the team to beat in the final. As expected, Jingyuan put on a masterclass and dropped a 16.200 on parallel bars, almost a point higher than second place parallel bars qualifier Zhang. Barring any major mistakes, he will waltz into another Olympic title.

Japan, meanwhile, also had an amazing meet. Boasting a team average of 15.0165 on parallel bars and 14.55775 on pommels, their consistency shines, but there were some surprising moments as well. Defending Olympic all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto fell on high bar but recovered well and qualified third in the all-around despite missing out on event finals. That high bar mishap was avenged by Takaaki Sugino, who pulled out a marvelous set and put down a 14.733 in its place, easily qualifying for the final. Shinnosuke Oka qualified second to the all-around final and will also be one to watch.

After the powerhouses, the competition for third will come down to the United States, Great Britain, and Ukraine.

The big story from the U.S. in qualifying was Brody Malone’s struggles. Typically Mr. Consistent and always dialed in, Malone will not feature in this Games’ all-around final after four falls (two on high bar, where he’s the 2022 world champion, as well as one on both pommel horse and floor). Instead, it will be Paul Juda and Frederick Richard in the all-around final. Juda stepped up and delivered, leading off five of six events and delivering every time. Can’t forget Stephen Nedoroscik, either, especially as the only U.S. man to make an event final. The pommel horse specialist silenced any doubts about his spot on the team with a massive 15.200 – tied for the highest score of qualifying on the event and qualifying second by tie break to the final.

Great Britain also brought the heat, led by huge scores on floor and vault from 2023 world vault champion Jake Jarman and Harry Hepworth. Jarman and 2019 world parallel bars champion Joe Fraser will both compete in the all-around final. Two-time defending Olympic pommel horse champion Max Whitlock showed everyone that he wants to retire on top, putting up a huge 15.166 on pommels to qualify third.

Finally, Ukraine had a stellar meet with room for improvement. The nation’s vault rotation was one of the highlights, featuring two stuck Dragulescus that catapulted both Nazar Chepurnyi and Igor Radivilov to vault finals in first and fourth, respectively.

The remaining teams all had their own highs and lows. Italy held strong despite Carlo Macchini’s nasty fall on high bar, finishing in sixth. This will be their first Olympic team final since 1996. Switzerland and Canada round out the top eight. This will be Canada’s first Olympic team final in men’s gymnastics after the team narrowly beat Turkey and The Netherlands by less than a point. 2023 Pan American Games champion Felix Dolci and teammate Rene Cournoyer also qualified to the all-around final. Turkey’s Adem Asil was on fire, scoring a 14.866 on rings and sticking a piked Dragulescu cold, landing him the highest individual vault score, before heartbreak struck when he counted a fall on his second vault, putting him as second reserve for the final. The 2022 world rings champion will still feature in that final.

Outside of the teams, the individual athletes were also hugely successful. Standout performances include Samir Ait Said of host country France on rings with a massive 14.966, qualifying him to the final in third behind China’s Zou and defending Olympic champion Liu Yang. Eleftherios Petrounias was also magical on rings, showing why his reign as the Lord of the Rings has endured for so long.

On pommel horse, two-time reigning world champion Rhys McClenaghan (IRL) bested both Nedoroscik and Whitlock, setting up what should be one of the best competitions of finals.

Finally, Carlos Yulo of the Philippines had an incredible meet. Two clean vaults and a scaled-down floor routine have snagged him spots in two event finals. A clean pommel horse set paired with no major mistakes propelled him to ninth in all-around qualifying. He’s stated he intends to contend for the podium with upgrades.

In the finals, scores reset to zero. The stage has been adequately set for fierce battles to take place across the board, and it all begins with the team final on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CEST/11:30 a.m. EDT.

See the full artistic gymnastics schedule here.