By Karen Braun
PARIS (Reuters) - The U.S. men's gymnastics squad made a huge statement in Paris on Monday as they put together a stunning third-place performance to end their 16-year Olympic medal drought, announcing themselves as a force in the gymnastics world.
The energy inside Bercy Arena was electric heading into the sixth and final rotation with the Americans battling Ukraine and Britain for the bronze medal, while favourites Japan and China were squaring off for gold.
The Americans appeared in position to secure bronze but they had to end on the ever-treacherous pommel horse, where Japanese ace Daiki Hashimoto had faltered earlier.
Americans Paul Juda and Brody Malone hit two strong routines to start, placing the U.S. fate squarely on anchor and pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik, who had waited the entire evening for his sole performance.
Nedoroscik's teammates fiercely hyped him through the whole routine, which he nailed with ease. The whole team erupted into celebration as if they had just won gold despite Japan being the true victors, surging back from fifth place at the halfway point to deliver heartbreak to China.
"I was like, five feet in the air jumping," U.S. gymnast Frederick Richard exclaimed as he described the moment.
That energy had been building throughout the event as the Americans stuck landing after landing, igniting belief they could stand on the team medals podium for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games.
"Every stick builds the momentum," Richard said.
The Americans opened Monday's team final on still rings, a great place to start according to the U.S. men's high performance director.
"We knew we could go three-for-three easily," Brett McClure told reporters, before explaining that Asher Hong's massive vault in the next rotation kicked the guys into gear.
"Once he put that on his feet I was like, now we're rolling," McClure said.
The Americans then worked through parallel bars, horizontal bar and floor exercise, besting their scores from qualifications on each apparatus.
Malone's horizontal bar effort marked redemption after suffering two uncharacteristic falls during qualifying, but a focused mindset was the key to success on Monday.
"(The team) made it a very strong point before going into the competition that we were going to make sure to stay in our bubble," Malone told reporters.
Richard hopes the Americans' clutch performance in Paris has made an impact on the next generation.
"I think a lot of young boys watching are inspired by us, and that makes me really happy."