By WILL GRAVES
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stanford’s Asher Hong cruised to his second national title in men’s gymnastics on Saturday, pulling away from the field for an easy victory at the U.S. Championships.
The 21-year-old Hong, part of the five-man team that earned bronze at the Paris Olympics last summer, posted a two-day total of 170.020 to win easily despite a rare miscue on the high bar during the first rotation on Saturday.
Not that it mattered. Hong became the 13th man to win multiple national titles with ease. The 2023 champion entered with a massive lead of over four points thanks to six steady routines Thursday.
Hong finished with the top scores on floor exercise, vault and still rings, events where the rising Stanford senior’s power easily translates.
The real race was for second, where Frederick Richard ‘s two-day total of 162.555 was just enough to slip by Fuzzy Benas at 162.310. Richard managed to finish runner-up despite voluntarily taking 0.6 points in deductions for wearing a nonconforming uniform on parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse and rings.
Rather than don the stirrup pants that have long been the norm, Richard wore gray shorts with matching leggings underneath, a small sacrifice the 21-year-old says he’s willing to make while competing at domestic elite meets in hopes of making the sport a little “cooler” to potential fans.
Colt Walker was fourth in the final meet before the world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October.
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Two-time national champion Brody Malone of Stanford, who skipped floor exercise and vault to put a little less stress on his surgically repaired right knee, placed first on parallel bars, second on rings and third on pommel horse to put him in a strong position to return to worlds for the first time since 2022.
Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist who became a viral sensation while winning two bronze medals in Paris, was fifth in his return to competition following a lengthy post-Olympic break that included a stint on “Dancing With the Stars.”
While Hong, Richard, Malone and Nedoroscik are pressing on, the fifth member of the 2024 Olympic team — Paul Juda — announced his retirement Saturday night.
