© John Cheng

LIVERPOOL, Great Britain (October 31, 2022) – The U.S. men have clinched a spot in Wednesday’s team final after posting the third-highest cumulative total across six subdivisions of Artistic Gymnastics World Championships qualifications Monday at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena. Asher Hong, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik and Donnell Whittenburg also advanced to individual finals slated for later in the week.

The U.S. squad locked up the third spot with a combined 252.295. They were nosed by hosts Great Britain, who qualified second with a 252.793. Japan’s 260.695 led the way, while China (249.929) finished fourth and will rotate with the U.S. team Wednesday, starting on pommel horse.

The American effort was bolstered by strong all-around performances from Stanford standouts Hong (Tomball, Texas) and Malone (Aragon, Ga.), who will compete in Friday’s men’s all-around final. Hong’s 83.299 was sixth overall and paced the team. Malone qualified eighth with an 82.631.

Malone, the reigning World bronze medalist on horizontal bar, also slotted in fifth on the apparatus Monday with a 14.433, earning a spot in the final. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto topped the scoresheet with a 15.100. Nedoroscik (Worcester, Mass./Penn State University), who became the first U.S. gymnast to earn World Championships gold on pommel horse in 2021, will have the chance to defend his crown. He shared top marks of 15.233 with Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan during the opening round. Two-time World bronze medalists Whittenburg (Baltimore, Md./Salto Gymnastics) claimed the eighth and final spot in the still rings final with a 14.333. Great Britain’s Courtney Tulloch, China’s Jingyuan Zou and Turkey’s Adem Asil each scored a day-high 14.666. Pommel horse and still rings champions will be decided Saturday, and Malone will compete for the high bar title Sunday.

On the remaining apparatus, Whittenburg garnered the U.S. team’s top score on floor exercise with a 14.133. Colt Walker (Cedar Park, Texas/Stanford University) set the bar on vault (14.600) and parallel bars (14.866).

The U.S. women return to action Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. ET with sights set on their record sixth-straight team title. The competition will stream live on Peacock. The men’s team final will follow Wednesday at 1:25 p.m. ET on Peacock.

Access the full event schedule, including information on how to watch, at www.usagym.org/worlds, and follow USA Gymnastics’ social media channels to stay up to date on the latest from Liverpool.