Brody Malone has gone from world champion on gymnastics’ most high-flying event to essentially relearning how to walk to world champion once again on the high bar.
Malone scored 14.933 points to become the third American male gymnast to claim multiple world titles, prevailing on the last day of worlds in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday.
Malone, the 2022 World high bar champion, blew out his right knee on a high bar dismount fall on March 18, 2023.
He sustained a right tibial plateau fracture, meniscus tear, a partially torn PCL and a fully torn LCL, then underwent three surgeries. He made it back to help the U.S. to team bronze at the Paris Olympics and mulled retiring after the Games.
GYMNASTICS WORLDS: Results
Then Malone set his sights on reclaiming the world title on high bar. In Saturday’s final, he hit four release skills, then a double-twisting double somersault dismount with a small hop.
Malone, who went first in the start order, then waited nearly a half-hour while seven others tried to beat his score. None did. Daiki Hashimoto of Japan, the 2023 World champion in Malone’s absence, came closest, two tenths back for silver.
“It’s kind of like a full circle-type feeling, I guess,” Malone told GymCastic. “Coming back from the leg injury, making the Olympic team was my No. 1 goal, but once I did that, I had goals to win a medal in the Olympics. And we did that as a team, which I’m very happy about, but I also had individual goals as well.”
Malone called it “a bummer” to not make an individual final at the Olympics.
“But it was definitely motivating, and it kept me motivated coming into this year,” he said.
Malone became the third American man to win multiple career gold medals in World Gymnastics Championships history after Kurt Thomas (three, 1978-79) and Paul Hamm (2003).
Three different U.S. men won a medal at worlds for the first time since 2013. On Saturday, Donnell Whittenburg won still rings gold, and Patrick Hoopes took pommel horse bronze. It last happened at the Olympics at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Also Saturday, Carlos Yulo of the Philippines and Zou Jingyuan of China won world titles on vault and parallel bars, respectively, after taking Olympic golds in the events last year.
In women’s finals, Zhang Qingying of China added balance beam gold to her bronze from Thursday’s all-around.
Aiko Sugihara of Japan won her first two world medals — floor exercise gold, beam bronze — at age 26, a decade after her first worlds.
Gymnastics worlds highlights air Sunday on NBC (women’s all-around, 12 p.m. ET) and CNBC (men’s all-around, 2 p.m.).
