Japan’s Kohei Uchimura became the first gymnast in 44-years to win back-to-back Olympic all around titles. In 2014, Uchimura won World Championships by 1.492 and up to this point, that was his lowest margin of victory through his seven major worldwide titles and the only one below 1.5 points.
Advertisement
Uchimura reversed the placings after the second rotation, scoring 14.900 on the pommel, despite Whitlock improving his score on the rings with 14.733.
The battle for men’s all-round supremacy will see the spotlight firmly on Japan’s charismatic reigning world and Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura.
“I am quite happy that I managed to make Kohei very nervous, but he still retains his title and I really, really am very happy for him”, said Ukrainian Oleg Verniaiev. He nervously laughed and said: “I can’t say that myself!” Verniaiev took silver, and Great Britain’s Max Whitlock took bronze. The one event where Uchimura put up a higher score was vault with a 15.566, the top score of the day on that event.
“If you go back and maximize his score it would be tough to get into that top two, that 92 point threshold is really hard”, USA national team director Kevin Mazeika said of the Corona del Mar High School graduate.
RIO DE JANEIRO-When the score flashed for the high bar’s final performer, Oleg Verniaiev, spectators gasped in surprise.
Uchimura, 27, now has seven Olympic medals, including three gold, to his name over the course of three Olympic Games.
But the judges found just enough shortcomings with his performance to tally a final score of 14.800, a full point behind, which vaulted Uchimura to his second consecutive Olympic all-around gold. In an electric arena, Verniaiev stepped up to his own high bar routine.
Needing 14.9 to win, Verniaiev instead received a 14.8.
2016 Rio Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Final – Men’s Individual All-Around Final – Rio Olympi … Neither suffered a true fall, but Mikulak’s knees brushed the mat on the landing of his vault and he had to stagger forward to stay upright. But instead, the final high bar routine was as flawless as it needed to be and the competition fittingly ended with the king on top.
“We’re definitely not satisfied with finishing fifth”.
“Uchimura has inspired me”, said the 23-year-old Whitlock, who took a third Olympic bronze after the team and pommel horse in London. Verniaiev’s precise parallel bars routine – his body pencil straight as he pressed into a handstand, his legs seemingly duct taped together – put him up by.901 points heading into high bar.
Uchimura put Japan on track by leading off the pommel horse as they competed alongside Russian Federation, despite Yamamuro falling off the apparatus.
Advertisement
“Yeah, he’s the man”, Brooks said. “Before I competed I just said “I’ve got to go for it”, and that’s what I did”.
