ST. LOUIS – Alex Naddour dismounted the pommel horse and pointed to where his wife and infant daughter sat together in the stands, his eyes welling as he completed his first event of the night.
A couple hours later, the tears he had held back would flow freely.
All of the sacrifices – from the hours in the gym to the nights his wife slept on the other side of the house with their daughter so he could rest – had paid off here at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Four years after being an alternate for the London Olympics, Naddour made the five-man team for Rio along with Chris Brooks, Jake Dalton, Sam Mikulak and John Orozco.