PARIS (AP) — Japan’s men’s gymnastics team won the Olympic gold medal with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over a formidable opponent.
China was one rotation away from winning its first Olympic title in 12 years, but Japan rode their momentum to victory. Paris Olympics In the men’s team competition on Monday, they won after a tense battle.
China’s Su Weide fell twice on the horizontal bar, allowing Japan to overtake their rivals in the final slalom, winning by just 0.532 points.
The United States won the bronze medal, its first since 2008.
China won the qualifying round, beating reigning world champions Japan.
The two athletes competed in the same group and began the competition with floor exercise, with China taking the lead midway through the competition and looking certain to win their first gold medal since 2012.
But while Sugino Takaaki, Oka Shinnosuke and Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Hashimoto Taiki produced superb performances on the horizontal bar to help Japan turn the tables, Su stumbled.
Xu was the weak link of the Chinese team and also failed to land her vault.
This was Japan’s eighth gold medal in team competitions and their first since Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The U.S. men’s team, which finished fifth in the qualifying round, ended a 16-year winless streak, delighting dozens of fans who waved American flags and chanted “USA, USA” throughout the night.
The United States won the bronze medal with a total score of 257.793 points, beating Great Britain.
Russia, which won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, did not compete because of its role in the war with Ukraine.
Hashimoto, who was apparently suffering from pain in her right shoulder during the qualifying rounds, fell midway through her pommel horse routine.
He fared better, but looked gloomy after his dismount and briefly balked, knowing that his score of 13.100 would dash his team’s gold medal hopes, but he quickly recovered and produced a fine vault before finishing the night with a respectable 14.566 on the horizontal bar.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-Paris-Olympic-Games
