Asher Hong is the youngest man to win two U.S. all-around titles in two decades.
Asher Hong won the U.S. men's all-around gymnastics title by a record margin under a 20-year-old scoring system.
Hong, a 21-year-old rising Stanford junior, totaled 170.02 points over two days in New Orleans, distancing fellow Olympic team bronze medalist Frederick Richard by 7.465 points.
Hong had the largest margin victory under the Code of Points system implemented in 2006. The previous record was 5.55 points by Sam Mikulak in 2019.
Hong, who won his first national title in 2023, is the youngest man to win a second all-around crown since Paul Hamm in 2003.
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Next, Hong will bid for his first individual medal at a global meet at the worlds in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hong was part of U.S. bronze-medal teams at the last worlds in 2023 and at the 2024 Olympics.
The worlds in the year after the Olympics do not have a team event; just the individual all-around and the six apparatus finals.
Hong won national titles on floor exercise, still rings and vault. Last year, he missed the eight-man Olympic final on rings and vault by one spot.
At nationals, his average difficulty between his two vaults — 5.4 — matched the most difficult set done at the Asian and European Championships earlier this spring.
To join Hong, five more men will be named later to round out the six-man roster at worlds.
Brody Malone, a three-time U.S. all-around champion, competed on four of six events this week, skipping floor exercise and vault after his surgically repaired right knee flared up in the spring.
Malone won parallel bears, but his best case for making the world team is for high bar, where he won a world title in 2022.
After falling twice off the bar Thursday, he posted the top score of the week by a massive 1.601 points on Saturday.
Stephen Nedoroscik optimistic in pommel horse return
Stephen Nedoroscik, the Pommel Horse Guy from the Paris Olympics, will not be on the world team. He came off the horse during his routine Saturday.
Nedoroscik finished fifth on the event overall in his first competition since the Games and after taking nine months off from training.
"Good news is I'm going to have a good amount of time here to get better, and I'm looking forward to that," he said on NBC Sports. "Generally, three months (back in training) was a little bit rushed for me."
Paul Juda retires from gymnastics
Paul Juda, the lone member of the Olympic bronze medal team not competing this week, said Saturday that he has retired. He called it an easy decision.
"This has been the journey of a lifetime," he said. "I've got no regrets. I'm full of joy, and I'm ready to move on with my life."
Nationals finish Sunday with the second day of women's competition (7 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock).
Category: General Sports
