Team USA men finish second in the qualification round at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023
The much-awaited 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships witnessed a power-packed action on the first day with the men's qualification rounds.
Day 1 of the championships, being held at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium, saw the USA men's team in action. Team USA finished second with a total score of 254.528, leaving behind team Great Britain, who scored 254.193.
Japan's men's team topped the qualification round with a total of 258.228. The USA men's team last secured a position on the podium at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where they earned a bronze medal.
Germany finished fourth, scoring 248.862, followed by China. The defending champions, China, came fifth with a total of 248.163. Spain and Turkey were placed sixth and seventh with a total score of 247.795 and 247.692, respectively.
The Netherlands men's team had to settle in at the eighth position with a total of 246.028. The Italian, French, and South Korean men's teams are yet to compete and will be seen in action on Day 2 of the championships.
The qualified men's team will compete in the finals on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Team USA men's gymnasts on Day 1 of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023
The men's USA team, including Fred Richard, Asher Hong, Khoi Young, and Paul Juda produced a spectacular performance on Day 1 of the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
The 2023 US horizontal bar champion, Richard, finished second in the men's floor exercise with a score of 14.6, leaving behind Japan's Kazuki Minami, Daiki Hashimoto, and Great Britain's Harry Hepworth.
In the pommel horse event, the three-time NCAA medalist, Young, secured second place, scoring 15.066. He was left behind by Great Britain's Max Whitlock, who scored 15.266.
Juda and Young competed in the men's vault, finishing in fifth and sixth places, scoring 14.666 and 14.583, respectively. The Tokyo Olympian Yul Moulder finished fourth in parallel bars, scoring 14.966. The all-around US national champion, Hong, had to settle for sixth place with a total of 14.833.
The 2022 NCAA Champion, Juda, finished sixth in the high bar, scoring 14.166. Day 2 of the championships will feature the remaining men's and initial women's qualification eventsd, featuring the USA.
The detailed schedule of the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships can be found here.