U.S. male gymnastics team claims bronze, first medal since 2008

Paul Juda, who will compete in the individual all-around final later this week, talked about the team’s strong start on the vault, their second of six rotations.

He said he started with the wrong foot as he launched down the runway and “completely blacked out” on his journey to the platform.

“I hit the table, and I just said, ‘alright, just hold it, just don’t fall. Just please don’t fall. Please don’t fall,'” Juda said. “Next thing I know, the ground’s at my feet, and I stuck it at the Olympic Games.”

He said he hoped that his nearly-perfect routine “created the momentum that we needed … sure, looked like it.”

From vault until the end, “it was just altitude and cruising, baby,” Juda said.

The crowd erupted when Frederick Richard stuck the landing on a risky high bar routine that was full of tricks. He said it was the people around him that helped him achieve that routine, one of the standouts of the night.

“I think about all the people behind me. I knew I had the whole U.S. behind me. I knew I had these five guys cheering me on. And I knew I wanted to do the best routine possible for them,” Richard told NBC News. “And when you feel that like deep in your heart, it happens, and you stick that land.”

Richard will join Juda in the individual all-around final.

Stephen Nedoroscik anchored his team on his famed single event, the pommel horse, earning a score that snagged the third place finish for the U.S. He will compete for Team USA in the individual event final.

“I didn’t know what we needed, but I knew I needed to do a good job,” Nedoroscik said. “I was feeling the nerves, but right before I went, these guys told me, ‘We trust you. We got your back.’ And when they said that, it all kind of went away.”

He said he “went up there, did my job,” and as soon as he stuck the landing he realized: “I think we might have just medaled, baby.”