Sam Mikulak, Brody Malone secure spots on U.S. Olympic gymnastics team

Despite falling off the pommel horse in the final event on the final day of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sam Mikulak of Newport Beach and Corona del Mar High was nominated to the U.S. team for the Tokyo Summer Games, his third Olympic selection.

Brody Malone of Stanford added the title of Olympian to an impressive string that includes NCAA all-around winner for Stanford, U.S. all-around champion and Olympic trials all-around champion. Malone, a 21-year-old native of Johnson City, Tenn., had the top two-day high bar score while compiling a consistent and precise 171.600 points overall at the Dome at America’s Center. His first-place finish at the trials automatically earned him an Olympic nomination, his first.

Sam Mikulak competes on the pommel horse during the men’s U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials on Saturday.

(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

Yul Moldauer, who was born in South Korea and was adopted by a Colorado couple before he was a year old, also earned an automatic nomination to the Tokyo squad by finishing second in the all-around standings and finishing in the top three in at least three of the six apparatus on which the men compete. Moldauer finished first on the parallel bars, second on pommel horse, third in floor exercise and tied for third on rings. He racked up 168.600 points.

A selection committee named Mikulak and Shane Wiskus to fill out the four-man team and chose Alec Yoder of Ohio State to be the “plus one,” a gymnast who will compete as an individual.

Mikulak, 28, had the highest two-day floor exercise score (29.300) and ranked second on the high bar (28.600). He is the only gymnast on the team who has prior Olympic experience. Beset by injuries in recent years, he has said he plans to retire after the Tokyo Games and move to North Carolina to join his fiancée, TV personality Mia Atkins.

The alternates for the team members will be Cameron Bock of the University of Michigan, Brandon Briones of Stanford, Akash Modi of Stanford and Allan Bower of the University of Oklahoma. The alternate for the plus-one spot will be rings specialist Ale Diab of the University of Illinois.

The women’s competition, which is led by defending Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles, will end on Sunday and will be followed by the announcement of the four-person team as well as a “plus one” individual competitor. Jade Carey previously clinched an individual Olympic berth based on her performances in the apparatus World Cup series.