Uchimura Takes Third World All-Around Title

Uchimura Takes Third World All-Around Title
Written by Amanda Turner for International Gymnast Magazine \| Friday, 14 October 2011 10:25

(9 votes, average 4.78 out of 5)

Japanese superstar Kohei Uchimura made history Friday at the world gymnastics championships in Tokyo, becoming the first male gymnast to win three world all-around titles.

Uchimura, the two-time defending champion, had a perfect outing en route to victory. He nailed six routines, ending with a stuck dismount off high bar that had the Tokyo crowd on its feet. He scored 93.631, more than 3 points ahead of his closest rival, meaning he conceivably could have fallen twice and still won.

Uchimura joins Russian Svetlana Khorkina (1997, 2001, 2003) as the only gymnasts to win three world all-around titles. Uchimura is the only gymnast to accomplish the feat in consecutive years.

After a subpar performance in earlier rounds, German Philipp Boy hit Friday to defend his silver medal from the 2010 Worlds. Boy scored 90.530, an improvement of nearly 2 points from qualification. Koji Yamamuro won the bronze with 90.255, bringing Japan a second medal.

Great Britain's Daniel Purvis was fourth ahead of American John Orozco, who had been second in qualification.

U.S. champion Danell Leyva, third in qualification, finished last after a frightening fall on high bar, clipping his chin on the high bar on his full-twisting layout Tkatchev. He did not finish the routine but was not seriously injured.

Following the competition, Uchimura and Romanian Ana Porgras were awarded the Longines Prize of Elegance.

Competition continues Saturday afternoon with the first day of apparatus finals.

Read complete coverage of the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships in the December 2011 issue of International Gymnast Magazine. Subscribe today at a special discount!

Follow IG Publisher Paul Ziert's live commentary from Yoyogi Stadium, broadcast simultaneously on IG's official Facebook Page and Twitter account.

2011 World Gymnastics Championships
Oct. 14, Tokyo, Japan

Men's All-Around Final		FX	PH	SR	VT	PB	HB	Total
1.	Kohei Uchimura	15.566	15.400	15.166	16.233	15.566	15.700	93.631
2.	Philipp Boy	14.866	14.466	14.500	16.066	14.566	16.066	90.530
3.	Koji Yamamuro	14.566	14.666	15.125	16.066	14.966	14.866	90.255
4.	Daniel Purvis	15.033	14.566	14.333	16.000	15.200	14.800	89.932
5.	John Orozco	14.400	14.366	14.300	15.866	15.366	15.366	89.664
6.	David Belyavsky	14.733	14.733	14.375	16.233	14.600	14.600	89.274
7.	Nikolai Kuksenkov	14.366	15.000	14.500	16.033	14.033	15.200	89.132
8.	Marcel Nguyen	15.233	13.866	14.933	15.133	15.200	14.466	88.831
9.	Cyril Tommasone	14.333	15.400	13.966	15.600	14.600	14.666	88.565
10.	Rafael Martinez	14.633	13.833	13.891	16.100	14.466	15.166	88.089
10.	Kim Seungil	14.466	14.466	14.291	15.600	14.433	14.833	88.089
12.	Flavius Koczi	15.366	14.333	13.633	16.433	14.433	13.800	87.998
13.	Alexander Shatilov	15.300	14.300	13.900	15.400	14.200	14.333	87.433
14.	Anton Fokin	14.066	14.566	14.233	15.700	14.966	13.833	87.364
15.	Emin Garibov	14.433	13.566	14.408	15.500	13.966	15.458	87.331
16.	Andrei Likhovitsky	14.266	14.966	13.700	15.300	14.600	14.333	87.165
17.	Kim Soomyun	14.466	14.866	13.866	16.366	14.100	13.500	87.164
18.	Teng Haibin	14.266	15.066	13.600	15.633	15.233	13.233	87.031
19.	Oleg Stepko	14.633	14.033	14.033	15.766	14.233	13.566	86.264
20.	Pascal Bucher	13.800	13.066	13.566	15.333	14.933	14.333	85.031
21.	Javier Gomez	14.066	13.500	14.300	14.800	14.475	13.766	84.907
22.	Tomas Gonzalez	15.333	12.100	13.866	16.000	13.300	13.766	84.365
23.	Nathan Gafuik	13.633	12.900	13.566	15.833	12.533	14.233	82.698
24.	Danell Leyva	14.833	14.433	14.341	14.800	15.333	6.466	80.206

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Catherine Wallace said:

Congratulations to Kohei!
I was so happy to see Kohei get his third title! His technical skills at the highest level, but it is his execution that really makes him stand above the rest - his attention to detail really enhances the beauty of his performances and puts the 'art' in artistic gymnastics. Not only that, but he has a good attitude and always displays great sportsmanship. He is a worthy winner of the gold medal, as well as the Longines Prize for elegance. Kohei (and the Japanese men's team) for Gold in London!! smilies/cheesy.gif

October 14, 2011
Votes: +4

Catherine Wallace said:

Congratulations Kohei!
I was SO excited to see Kohei Uchimura win his third consecutive AA title! His technical skills are at such a high level, but it is really his execution that sets him above the rest - he pays such attention to detail that every move becomes a thing of beauty and puts the 'art' in artistic gymnastics. Not only that, but he has a good attitude and always displays great sportsmanship. He is a worthy winner of the gold as well as the Longines prize for elegance. Kohei (and the Japanese men's team) for gold in London 2012!