Yang Wei Takes Gold in Men's All-Around
Thursday August 14, 2008
Chinese favorite Yang Wei won the all-around tonight as expected -- and was one of the few gymnasts to hit six-for-six in a mistake-filled competition. Yang ended on high bar, his weakest event, and only needed about a 12 to win. Despite a big break and some sloppy form, Yang prevailed on the strength of his other five events.
The rest of the competitors were heartbreaking to watch, with falls marring almost every medal contender. German medal favorite Fabian Hambuechen fell on high bar, his best event; Koreans Yang Tae-Young and Kim Dae-Eun bombed pommel horse; and Japan's Hiroyuki Tomita had a scary crash on rings. None of these top contenders made the medal stand.
In the end, the silver went to Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who showed beautiful gymnastics on high bar and floor, but fell apart (two falls) on pommel horse. Bronze went to an ecstatic Benoit Caranobe of France -- who had a consistent day across all six events.
American Jonathan Horton had an off meet and finished ninth, while US teammate Sasha Artemev ended in 12th.
Final Results:
1. Yang Wei, China 94.575
2. Kohei Uchimara, Japan 91.975
3. Benoit Caranobe, France 91.925
4. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan 91.750
5. Sergei Khorokhordin, Russia 91.700
6. Maxim Deviatovsky, Russia 91.700
7. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany 91.675
8. Yang Tae-Young, South Korea 91.600
9. Jonathan Horton, USA 91.575
10. Rafael Martinez, Spain 91.500
The rest of the competitors were heartbreaking to watch, with falls marring almost every medal contender. German medal favorite Fabian Hambuechen fell on high bar, his best event; Koreans Yang Tae-Young and Kim Dae-Eun bombed pommel horse; and Japan's Hiroyuki Tomita had a scary crash on rings. None of these top contenders made the medal stand.
In the end, the silver went to Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who showed beautiful gymnastics on high bar and floor, but fell apart (two falls) on pommel horse. Bronze went to an ecstatic Benoit Caranobe of France -- who had a consistent day across all six events.
American Jonathan Horton had an off meet and finished ninth, while US teammate Sasha Artemev ended in 12th.
Final Results:
1. Yang Wei, China 94.575
2. Kohei Uchimara, Japan 91.975
3. Benoit Caranobe, France 91.925
4. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan 91.750
5. Sergei Khorokhordin, Russia 91.700
6. Maxim Deviatovsky, Russia 91.700
7. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany 91.675
8. Yang Tae-Young, South Korea 91.600
9. Jonathan Horton, USA 91.575
10. Rafael Martinez, Spain 91.500
Comments
Good for Yang Wei — finally pulling it off.
I really like the skills of the #2 guy. He was great! And good for Yang Wei for living up to all of the immense pressure!