ANTWERP, Belgium (September 30, 2023) – The U.S. men’s team of Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas/Stanford University), Paul Juda (Deerfield, Ill./University of Michigan), Yul Moldauer (Arvada, Colo./5280 Gymnastics), Fred Richard (Stoughton, Mass./University of Michigan) and Khoi Young (Bowie, Md./Stanford University) all but guaranteed their place in the team final after a strong performance Saturday in qualifying at the 2023 FIG Artistic World Championships.

Team USA put up an impressive 254.528 to sit in second place overall in team qualifying after their subdivision. With only eight teams yet to compete, the U.S. looks all but certain to come out of qualifying among the top eight countries who then move to Tuesday’s men’s team final.

The U.S. also has mathematically sewn up a men’s team berth for the 2024 Olympic Games. They needed to be in the top 12 after qualifying to secure a spot in Paris. (The members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team will be named after the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.)

Japan currently leads the team standings in Antwerp with 258.228, followed by the U.S. with 254.528, Great Britain third with 254.193, Germany fourth with 248.862, and China fifth with 248.163. Remaining full teams include Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, South Korea and Switzerland.

In individual all-around competition, Richard posted a score of 83.566, with Hong scoring 83.165, to sit in 6th and 8th place. Japanese athletes Kenta Chiba (85.799), Kazuma Kaya (85.598) and Daiki Hashimoto (85.432) sit atop of the all-around standing thus far. The top 24 athletes from qualifications, limited to two per country, will advance to Thursday’s all-around final.

Americans are represented in the top eight of nearly all individual apparatus standings after Saturday night and now look to hold on as qualifying continues Sunday morning. Richard posted a 14.600 on floor exercise to rank second, and Young also notched a second-place standing with his 15.066 on pommel horse. Moldauer and Hong are currently third (14.966) and sixth (14.833) on parallel bars, and Juda is sixth (14.166) on horizontal bar and fifth (14.666) on vault. Young is in sixth (14.583) and Hong in seventh (14.516) on vault. The eight top athletes on each apparatus, also limited to two per country, will move onto their respective finals.

Men’s qualifications continue Sunday, October 1 at 4 a.m. ET, after which the participants in the team, all-around and event final rounds will be finalized.

The U.S. women’s team of Simone Biles (Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre), Skye Blakely (Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics), Shi Jones (Auburn, Wash./Ascend Gymnastics Center), Joscelyn Roberson (Texarkana, Texas/World Champions Centre) and Leanne Wong (Overland Park, Kan./University of Florida Gymnastics) take the floor for the first time Sunday afternoon for Day 1 of women’s qualifications in Subdivision 2.

Live scoring and results for the 2023 FIG World Championships are available on the FIG microsite, and fans can steam the competition live at allgymnastics.tv.