Young climbs to third
Young had a much improved competition Saturday, after having to save his still rings dismount and falling off the pommel horse night one. He moved from fifth to third in the overall standings while posting the second best all-around total to Malone in the finals.
Despite Young’s massive success – two individual silver medals – at last year’s World Championships, he said it doesn’t feel much different coming into this season with more eyes and more expectations.
“I still hesitate to say that it feels different,” said Young, the 2024 NCAA all-around winner. “I definitely enjoy just knowing that the potential to compete at the highest level with the guys is there. Whereas years ago, I hadn’t been my best in the all-around or even on [pommel] horse or vault.
“So just knowing I’ve put in the numbers now and I’ve got the experience internationally, the confidence is there,” he continued. “But other than that, it’s any other meet.”
The name of the game for Young is consistency, as competition for the U.S. Olympic team heads to Minneapolis and the Olympic trials.
“Definitely [hit] 12 for 12,” he said. “I’ve got to stay on, I’ve got to hit clean,” Young said of his competitive approach. “I don’t have the difficulty that some of the other guys have, but what I do have is the execution, so I definitely need to hit it clean, just do what I usually do and I think we’ll be all right.”