NBC 5’s Laura Harris catches up with Plano’s Asher Hong and his dad Rick to talk about bringing home the bronze medal in the team competition and his incredible vault.
Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Frederick Richard have done something that hasn't been done since 2008: bring home an Olympic medal in men's gymnastics team competition.
The team edged out Great Britain for bronze with a combined score of 257.793. Japan won gold with 259.594, and China took silver with 259.062.
Of the five men representing Team USA, four were making their Olympic debuts in Paris, and Malone, a seven-time NCAA champion, made his Olympic debut in Tokyo.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Hong, 20, who trains in Houston, was born in Plano and is a sophomore at Stanford University.
Hong, who earned NCAA team and vault champion honors with Stanford, performed one of the hardest vaults in the world on Monday. Commentators called the vault, which featured two flips and a full twist wrapped in, "death-defying."
When Team USA earned the bronze, many on the team broke down. After all, it was the third U.S. men's team medal in the last 20 years.
"I mean, it feels unreal," Hong told NBC 5's Laura Harris. "Jus the whole journey that I've been through to come to this moment and to finally win an Olympic medal for my country and represent them, it feels amazing."
It's been 40 years since the U.S. men's gymnastics team last won a gold medal. Team USA won gold in the team all-around in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR TEAM USA MEN'S GYMNASTICS?
Next is the men's gymnastics all-around final, which will be held on Wednesday, July 31, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT.
The Top 24 individual gymnasts, with a maximum of two gymnasts per country, qualify for the men's all-around final. Richard (10th place) and Juda (13th place) will represent Team USA.
The top eight individual gymnasts on each apparatus qualify for the event finals, with, again, a maximum of two gymnasts per country per event.
Nedoroscik advanced to the pommel horse final. Hong is the first reserve on still rings and vault (if anyone drops out, he will compete), while Richard is the third reserve on horizontal bar.
The women’s final, featuring seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, takes place on Tuesday.
