China’s Yang Wei maintained China’s gymnastics gold rush at the Beijing Olympics with an emphatic win in the men’s individual all-around event yesterday.
Yang, the reigning world champion, secured China’s third gymnastics gold at the Beijing Games ahead of Japan’s Kohei Uchimura and Benoit Caranobe of France.
He finished on 94.575, 2.6 points ahead of Uchimura on 91.975, with Caranobe on 91.925.
PHOTO: EPA
It was dominant display from Yang, 28, who was a silver medalist in the event at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but came seventh at the Athens Games four years ago, a disappointment that left him considering retirement.
Yang was part of the Chinese men’s team that won on Tuesday and he also has a team gold from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, taking his tally to three.
“The result is very good, tremendous, that’s the feeling I was looking for and I really like,” he said after the win.
The Chinese gymnast suffered an early setback when he stepped out of bounds on the exercise floor, but maintained his composure in front of 18,000 screaming fans at the National Indoor Stadium.
After completing the pommel horse, one of the lowest scoring of the six men’s apparatus, he was in eighth place after two rounds, but said he still remained confident of victory.
Yang then began to assert his authority in the third round, the rings, where he scored 16.625 to move into second place behind South Korea’s Yang Tae-young at the halfway mark.
He then surged into the lead with a blistering 16.55 on the vault as the crowd urged him on, chanting “Yang Wei, jiayou.”
A score of 16.1 on the parallel bars extended his lead and meant Yang went into his final round on the high bar ahead 2.5 points, a massive lead under the new gymnastics scoring system being used at these Olympics for the first time.
Yang needed 12.175 on the high bar to secure gold and took no risks, scoring a solid but unspectacular 14.775 to claim the title.
The Chinese gymnast was so confident of making the score that he blew kisses to the stands and waved a Chinese flag before his final score had even flashed up in the stadium, as the crowd gave him a rock star reception.
Yang’s dominance meant the rest of field were left fighting for silver and bronze, with Uchimura securing second spot despite falling twice from the pommel horse.
Caranobe said he was shocked, but thrilled, to win bronze, France’s first medal in the individual all-around since the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
The Frenchman said he came to Beijing to concentrate on the vault and entered the all-around just to have some fun.
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