Shinnosuke Oka, of Japan, celebrates after winning the gold medal during the men’s artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
PARIS — Shinnosuke Oka won the men’s all-around gymnastics title at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, upsetting the two main favorites to extend Japan’s dominance in a final that came down to the wire.
The former junior world champion whose career was put on hold by a serious knee injury two years ago edged Zhang Boheng and Xiao Ruoteng, both of China, to claim his second gold medal in three days at his first Olympics, by just 0.233 points.
“I did not make any mistake at these Olympic Games,” Oka said. “I was a challenger, but I wanted to win.”
Oka’s teammate Daiki Hashimoto, the defending champion, fell during his pommel horse routine, finishing sixth.
Despite Hashimoto’s struggles, it was another sweet evening for Japan, which produced a remarkable last-minute turnaround in the team final on Monday to edge China on the last rotation.
Hashimoto and Zhang have built a gripping rivalry over the past three years and were expected to be the top contenders. Zhang was the world champion in all-around in 2021 ahead of Hashimoto, who claimed the world title by defeating Zhang the next year.
Shinnosuke Oka, center, of Japan, poses with his gold medal alongside silver medalist Zhang Boheng, right, and bronze medalist Xiao Ruoteng, both of China, after the men’s artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
But it was Oka, who recently resurfaced at the top, who grabbed the spotlight and kept his head cool in the final rotation on the horizontal bar to give Japan a fourth straight Olympic all-around title.
Oka, who won the junior world title when he was 15 but then tore his right ACL, made the most of the favorites’ mistakes.
He delivered a solid pommel horse routine to surge into the lead after two rotations, then stuck a marvel vault. He was as impressive on the two remaining apparatuses, the parallel bars and bar.
Zhang had dominated qualifying ahead of Oka and Hashimoto. The trio started in the leaders’ group. Hashimoto got off the blocks with an excellent floor routine, mixing clean passes and stuck landings. Zhang had a shaky start, bouncing onto the mat after landing on his hands and knees on his second pass.
The unusual error left him trailing, but it was then Hashimoto’s turn to falter when he fell off the pommel horse after losing his balance. Hashimoto put his hands behind his head in frustration, finished his routine, then got a massage on the same right shoulder that had seemed to bother him during qualifying.
Zhang fought hard until the end, earning a 15.300 on the parallel bars that put him back in contention. He capped his evening with a 14.633 on the horizontal bar, but that was too little, too late.
“I made some mistakes, but I managed to readjust and get back to my basics later on the other apparatus,” Zhang said. “I did everything I could to catch up with the other gymnasts. I didn’t win the gold medal, but losing is normal. It happens.”
The 22-year-old Hashimoto, who in Tokyo became the youngest man ever to win the Olympic all-around title, failed in his bid to become only the fourth male gymnast to win a second all-around title. But he did not look too upset and joined Oka in his celebrations.
“Daiki never stopped telling me that I should have confidence and that I should do my best, right from the start of the competition, and that gave me confidence and strength,” Oka said.
There were no athletes from powerhouse Russia because of the war in Ukraine.
The women’s all-around final will take place Thursday. Simone Biles and her U.S. teammate Suni Lee are set to become the first two Olympic all-around champions to face one another in the competition.