Shinnosuke Oka, of Japan, celebrates after winning the gold medal during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual horizontal bar finals at Bercy Arena at the Paris Olympics 2024, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Shinnosuke Oka’s fairytale debut in the Paris Olympics got even better on Monday as the Japanese gymnast added horizontal bar gold to his team and all-around titles.
The 20-year-old, who also has a bronze in parallel bars for good measure, scored the same 14.533 points as Colombia’s Angel Barajas, but took gold on the strength of his higher execution mark.
China’s Zhang Boheng and Taiwan’s Tang Chia-Hung shared bronze.
READ: Paris Olympics: Shinnosuke Oka wins men’s all-around title
The final was marked by several falls and fumbled dismounts, with Tang and in particular Japan’s Takaaki Sugino hitting the deck to gasps from the crowd.
Belying his inexperience, Oka kept his nerve and crucially his grip on the 2.8 metre-high bar to top the standings.
Shinnosuke Oka, of Japan, celebrates after winning the gold medal during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual horizontal bar finals at Bercy Arena at the Paris Olympics 2024, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
His score was matched by Colombian teenager Barajas, but he was awarded 7.933 for execution compared to Oka’s 8.633.
In contrast, Zhang and Tang were inseparable on 13.966 and an identical 7.466 execution mark left them tied for third.
Defending champion from the Tokyo Games, Daiki Hashimoto, failed to qualify for the final.
In a sign of how errors played their part in the 2024 final, Oka’s score in Paris would only have won bronze at the Covid-delayed Games three years ago.