Qualifying didn't go as planned for Georgia native gymnast Brody Malone. Redemption awaits in the final

Summerville, Georgia, native gymnast Brody Malone struggled during qualifying at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Saturday.
Brody Malone, of United States, competes on the floor exercise during a men's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Summerville, Georgia, native Brody Malone has spent the last 16 months defying the odds, improbably coming back from a catastrophic right knee injury in the spring of 2023 to reach the Olympics for a second time.

When the 24-year-old won his third national title in June, he looked every bit the star the Americans envisioned when he became the standard-bearer for the men’s program three years ago.

Yet Malone has been around long enough to know that gymnastics is not a sport where progress is linear. If he needed a reminder, it came during team qualifying Saturday, when the sport that has given Malone so much took away an opportunity to compete in the all-around final.