China's Yang Wei crowned in men's gymnastics all-around
14/8/2008 17:56
China's all-conquering gymnast Yang Wei won the men's all-around title
with a convincing 94.575 points in Beijing today at the Beijing
Olympics.
Yang, a three-time Olympian with two world championships all-around
golds under his belt, stormed to his first Olympic all-around victory by beating
runner-up Kohei Uchimura by 2.60 points. Caranobe Benoit of France settled for
bronze.
It's also China's second gymnastics men's all-around title after Li
Xiaoshuang's at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
Surviving his nearly-failed
last apparatus of horizontal bar, his weakest of all six apparatus which
produced his lowest 14.775 points in today's final, a jubilant Yang celebrated
even before his final score was accumulated, waving the Chinese national flag to
the cheering home fans.
Yang, well-known for his awesome preciseness of
movements, started with a comparatively plain start on floor exercise when he
stepped outside the marked area and ended with a below-average 15.250
points.
He pushed two notches up from 10th to 8th after pommel horse routine.
On rings, the 28-year-old launched a strong surge, amid deafening cheers and
applause from home fans for his unbelievable straightness.
Rings produced
16.625 points and took Yang up to second place only after Yang Tae-young of
South Korea. Vault sent him further to top when he scored 16.550, and a 16.100
points on parallel bars further expanded his lead.
But horizontal bar nearly
brought Yang a last-minute defeat as he was seen on the verge of losing grip of
the bar. When he survived, the crowd burst into cheers and chants "Yang Wei,
Yang Wei". Broad smile came to his face for the first time.
"I had experience
such as excelling on five apparatus but failed the last. I also had experience
of losing the first but succeeding on the remaining five. Things of such kind
cannot affect me any more," said Yang.
"The gold medal is meaningful because
it's China's second men's all-around gold and also the second under the guidance
of coach Huang Yubing," he said.
Yang and China's first men's all-around gold
medalist Li Xiaoyuang are both from China's Hubei province. "I am happy as it's
the second men's all-around gold medal from Xiantao city of Hubei province," he
said.
Yang's teammate Chen Yibing, a rings specialist, tried hard to pull
back from a crushing start on pommel horse.
He dropped shortly after his
mount and placed 23rd. But the highest 16.650 points on his specialty sent him
to 10th and he even made it to 3rd with consistent efforts.
But a fatal blow
came after he fell from the horizontal bar. He even did not finish his routine
and finished in last place.
Kohei Uchimura also nearly ruined his chance
after a disastrous performance on pommel horse. He dropped twice and scored as
low as 13.275 points. But his stable performance throughout the rest of the
competition brought him to second berth among the 24 finals.
"I exhausted
myself in the team competition and also has injuries. I can feel weakness and
injuries during my pommel horse routine. So I gave up today's competition. I
must save my energy for my individual titles, " said Chen Yibing after the
competition.
He also said his teammate Yang is above the field and deserves
the gold. "He trained so hard for so many years and the gold should be his," he
said.
Xinhua
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