TAMPA, Fla. - Brody Malone successfully defended his all-around title at the 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships Saturday evening at Amalie Arena. The 2020 Olympian's two-day score of 176.590, which was boosted by the bonus system the U.S. men's program implemented earlier in the year, dominated the field by more than five points. He also delivered strong performances on horizontal bar (30.088) and floor exercise (29.732) to claim two additional gold medals, and placed second on pommel horse (29.578).
World bronze medalist Donnell Whittenburg secured all-around silver with a combined 171.571, outpacing Stanford incoming freshman Asher Hong who finished third with a 171.210. Hong led all competitors on vault with a 33.460, while Stanford grad Curran Phillips topped the leaderboards on parallel bars with a 33.948 after registering 16.999 and 16.949 scores on day one and two, respectively. Hong also claimed second on floor (29.458) and third on rings (29.532).
At the conclusion of competition, the Senior Men's National Team and men's Senior Development Team were named through the 2023 Winter Cup. Joining Malone, Hong and Phillips from Stanford on the Senior National Team are Taylor Burkhart, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Riley Loos, Blake Sun and Colt Walker. Stanford rising junior Jeremy Bischoff was named to the Senior Development Team.
Walker posted a combined score of 169.049 to finish sixth overall in the all-around, while Burkhart (165.425), Lasic-Ellis (164.050) and Loos (163.408) placed eighth through 10th, respectively. Bischoff also finished in the top 20 of the packed field, managing a 155.600 two-day score to place 20th overall.
Competing on parallel bars and pommel horse, Sun posted a pair of top-three finishes - placing third on parallel bars (30.297) and taking fourth on pommels (27.550).
WIth Hong leading the way, Stanford gymnasts claimed four of the top five spots on vault, with Walker (30.194), Loos (30.144) and Burkhart (29.688) finishing third through fifth, in that order. Even more impressive, Stanford gymnasts earned five of the top six spots on parallel bars. Phillips won the event by more than three points, followed by Walker (30.748) and Sun in second and third. Malone (30.042) and Hong (29.760) followed in fifth and sixth, respectively.
By way of the 1-2 finish, Malone and Whittenburg have automatically qualified to the represent the U.S. at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England this October.
