MINNEAPOLIS — He shed the bulky knee brace strapped around his right leg, stuck his vault cold to open one of the biggest competitions of his life, and Brody Malone still didn’t crack a smile as he scurried off the mats at Target Center on Thursday.

Malone’s mission is far from done.

In second place after the first day of Olympic trials, the three-time U.S. champion is in a strong position to earn his second Olympic team berth with 85.100 points in the all-around. He trails 2023 world all-around bronze medalist Frederick Richard, who surged into the top spot in the final two rotations and finished with an 85.600.

The top all-around finisher locks in a coveted Olympic berth on the five-man team that will be announced Saturday (2 p.m. PDT, Ch. 4). Malone, third-place finisher Shane Wiskus (84.300 points) and Yul Moldauer, who is tied for fifth (83.700), are vying for their second Olympic berths.

An encore Olympic performance seemed improbable for Malone when he was on an operating table in Germany in March 2023.

Competing in the event finals at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, Malone peeled off the high bar on his dismount and mangled his right knee. He was rushed to surgery, one of three procedures he needed to repair ligament tears, cartilage damage and a fractured tibial plateau. Brett McClure, USA Gymnastics men’s high performance director, was on the floor in the arena and didn’t think he would see Malone perform again.

Then the former Stanford star won his third U.S. championship this month in his first all-around performance in 17 months.

“Absolutely incredible,” McClure told reporters Wednesday. “It’s mind-blowing. Obviously from my position, high performance director, I want to just see him safely get through Olympic trials. That’s not good enough for him. He wants to go out there and win.”

Malone started with a triumphant vault in the first rotation, sticking his routine while competing without his knee brace for the first time. The brace is designed to push the joint inward while on floor and vault to reduce pain. But it was pushing against his shin and affecting his run. Competing without it marked another major milestone in his comeback.

“Sticking it was the cherry on top, for sure,” Malone said, finally smiling.

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