ReutersGLASGOW (Reuters) — When Kohei Uchimura capped a high-flying horizontal bar routine with
a perfect landing on Friday, he instantly held up six fingers to the crowd,
confident that he had just won a record sixth all-around title at the gymnastics
world championships.
The Japanese hero did not even bother to hang around for the judges’ verdict to begin his celebrations, urging the crowd with both hands to cheer louder.
When his score of 15.100 flashed up, it confirmed the victory and showed his margin of success over surprise Cuban silver medalist Manrique Larduet was 1.634 points after Uchimura amassed a combined 92.332 points across six apparatus.
“Winning today was totally different from my other victories because this is the first time I have won an all-around gold after winning the team title, so that is why I was so happy after the competition today,” Uchimura said after being given a standing ovation by the Hydro Arena crowd.
While Uchimura picked up a ninth gold at the worlds, taking his overall medals tally to 18, Larduet reduced his coach to tears by becoming the first Cuban to win an all-around medal at the global meet.
The 19-year-old had qualified only in seventh place for the final but after Britain’s Max Whitlock dropped out of contention to win a second successive silver medal following a crash landing off the horizontal bar, the Cuban kept his wits in the final rotation to finish second.
China’s Deng Shudi fought back from eighth place at the half-way point of the competition to claim bronze — his country’s first medal in the individual event since Yang Wei won the second of his golds in 2007.
“This medal proves the important role I have in the Chinese team,” Deng, who sports a massive scar on his right cheek, said.
But it is Uchimura who is leaving an indelible mark on the sport.
The 26-year-old, who was left fuming after falling during his floor exercise in qualifying and then again from the horizontal bar in the men’s team final, finally hit his target of six clean routines in Glasgow.
Five of his programs broke the 15-point mark, with the judges deeming his performance on the rings was not quite as good as the rest of his impressive bodywork.
But that was the only blemish for Uchimura, who captured his second gold medal of the championships after helping Japan to their first team title in 37 years two days ago.
“I wanted to win the all-around title without any mistakes, so I left out a few difficult elements today,” he said. “I wanted to produce a perfected performance.”
Uchimura has now bagged every Olympic and world all-around title since taking silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, a streak unmatched in gymnastics history. No other man or woman has won more than three world all-around titles.
When Uchimura won his fifth straight all-around gold at the 2014 worlds by 1.492 points, it raised hopes among the chasing pack that they might finally be closing the gap on the Japanese great, as it was his smallest margin of victory at the world championships.
But on Friday, he again showed they were no closer to beating him any time
soon and he will be the favorite to become the first man to win back-to-back
Olympic titles in Rio next year since his compatriot Sawao Kato achieved
the feat in 1972.
‘King Kohei’ wins 6th world title
AP, AFP-JIJI
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – This isn’t about history for Kohei Uchimura. This is about national pride, the perpetual chase of perfection and respect for his own considerable gifts.
Whether the Japanese star is the greatest male gymnast ever remains up for debate, though perhaps not for much longer. The sixth consecutive world title he won Friday night came with as much ease as any of the five that came before it.
There was never a doubt. Not from the near flawless opening floor exercise at the start of the night to the slightly watered down high bar routine that ended with Uchimura nailing the landing as if his feet were suctioned to the mat.
When his final score of 92.332 points was posted — more than 1.6 better than Cuban teenager Manrique Lardue and China’s Deng Shudi — the relentlessly self-controlled 26-year-old held up six fingers and flexed. It’s as close as he’ll ever get to a humble brag.
Yes, he’s aware of how often he finds himself atop the podium. Yet he’s not doing it these days to add to his bling.
“It’s not about the result,” Uchimura said through a translator. “It’s about the performance.”
And doing it for his home country. Uchimura, the defending Olympic champion in the all-around, already filled the one hole in his otherwise immaculate resume when he helped Japan to its first team world title in nearly 40 years Wednesday night.
Freed of the burden he’s carried for the better part of a decade, he soared as elegantly as ever, each set a fluid mix of precision, artistry and strength that even left his biggest rivals acknowledging his dominance.
“Although (Uchimura) does not have the most difficult routines,” Chinese delegation leader Ye Zhennan said, “he is the best in execution.”
Execution that for a few hours seemed to meet Uchimura’s own impossibly high standards.
Even as Japan triumphed over host Britain and China in the team competition, Uchimura admitted frustration afterward for botching high bar routine, a miscue that led to several tense minutes as the judges deliberated. When Japan’s lead remained intact, Uchimura exhaled while pledging to be sharper in the all-around.
His biggest competition came from the surprising Larduet. The 19-year-old appeared right at home on the biggest stage of his young career. His powerful tumbling runs made the floor creak underneath him and his parallel bar set was a breathtaking mix of technical prowess and youthful aggression.
Larduet’s silver medal marked the best-ever finish by a Cuban male in the all-around. Though he’ll have to get through an Olympic test event next April if he wants to face Uchimura again in Rio, Larduet hardly appears overwhelmed at the prospect of facing a legend.
“I’ve been watching (Uchimura) on video for several years now,” Larduet said. “So I’m really proud that I can compete with him.”
Feng became the first Chinese gymnast since two-time world champion Yang Wei in 2007 to earn a medal in the all-around, momentum Feng believes can carry him even further in Brazil next summer and help put China back in its usual place after Japan ended China’s 10-year reign at the top.
American Donnell Whittenburg finished eighth after being added to the field only hours before when Belarus’ Dzmitry Barkalau withdrew. American teammate Danell Leyva struggled on pommel horse and high bar, fading to 17th.
Still, Uchimura remains a man apart. He is Japan’s version of LeBron James, a superstar who is a fixture in commercials and in some ways a national treasure. It’s a position Uchimura has become well aware of, one he’s trying to pay forward as his unparalleled career reaches its peak.
The man who once pledged to keep on chasing excellence to honor those who died in the 2011 tsunami believes his work remains unfinished.
“It’s not a one-time performance,” he said. “It needs to be continuous. I can only do gymnastics. I’m going to keep doing it to give hope to the people.”
Uchimura’s performance thrilled the vocal audience.
“Gymnastics is a very mental sport. I’m not sure that it’s suitable for such an enthusiastic audience,” joked the gymnast known as “King Kohei.”
“During the competition I heard the announcer shout to the crowd to make noise. I don’t think it’s a good idea in competition!”
Uchimura said he felt less pressure than in the past.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten a gold medal after winning the team gold, that is why I was more relaxed today,” said Uchimura
Britain’s Max Whitlock, a silver medalist last year, appeared ready to make a push early behind a masterful pommel horse routine only to miss a connection on high bar and go splashing onto the mat. The misstep cost him a shot at the top three, a rare disappointment during a championships in which both the British men’s and women’s program reached the medal stand.
Whittenburg struggled through qualifying and wasn’t pushed into the field until early Friday. The 21-year-old did just fine on short notice, his only real misstep coming on vault — typically one of his strongest events.
“I just wanted to come out and do gymnastics,” he said. “I didn’t really think about it.”
Leyva, the bronze medalist behind Uchimura at the 2012 London Olympics, was fourth in qualifying but never got on track in the finals. He muscled through a rough pommel horse routine and bailed in the middle of his high bar set on his 24th birthday.
Three years after boldly proclaiming he was aiming for Uchimura, Leyva hasn’t made the kind of inroads he expected.
Then again, neither has anyone else.
内村 世界一のパパ！個人総合６連覇 “生ける伝説”リオ決定
スポニチアネックス 11月1日(日)7時2分配信
◇体操世界選手権第８日（２０１５年１０月３０日 英国・グラスゴー）
世界一の雄姿を愛する家族に見せつけた。男子個人総合決勝で内村航平（２６＝コナミスポーツク）が、合計９２・３３２点で自身の史上最多記録を更新する６連覇を達成。初めて海外の試合を現地で観戦した妻子に団体総合に続いて金メダルを届け、１６年リオデジャネイロ五輪代表にも決まった。２位には内村と１・６３４点差の９０・６９８点でマンリケ・ラルドゥエト（１９＝キューバ）が入り、初代表の萱（かや）和磨（１８＝順大）は８８・１９８点で１０位だった。
体操界のキングは誰なのか。美しい演技とド派手なパフォーマンスを見れば、答えは明白だ。最終種目・鉄棒の着地を決めた内村が、得点が出る前から両手を振り上げて観客をあおった。「点差も分かってたし、これはいったかなって。だったら沸かせるだけ沸かせてやろうと思って、初めてやった。ちょっと調子に乗ってみました」。優勝が決まると、指を１本ずつ順番に立てた。開いた左手と、右手人さし指で「６連覇ポーズ」の完成だ。
「（優勝が）６回目だし、片手じゃ収まらないっていうのをやってみた。（６連覇は）正直、自分でも信じられない」
床運動と跳馬で２４選手中トップの得点をマークするなど、２位と１・２００点差の安全圏で鉄棒へ。２８日の団体決勝で落下したＧ難度の「カッシーナ」を外し、勝利にこだわった。団体も個人総合も制覇するのは自身初めて。「達成感がいつもと違う。日の丸を２回も揚げられたのが初めてだったんで」。全種目で着地はほとんど乱れず、演技を終えるたびにガッツポーズ。力強く突き上げた拳の先には、愛する家族がいた。
１２年１１月に結婚した妻・千穂さん（２６）、２歳の長女、０歳の次女が、海外の試合を初めて観戦。「練習で子供に接する時間があまりない」と内村は苦笑いを浮かべるが、子育てにも奮闘中だ。自宅では愛娘と遊び、おむつを替え、一緒に風呂に入る。パパとしてもオールラウンダーなキングは、「奥さんには感謝してる」と表彰式でもらった花束を千穂さんに渡した。
内村の胸には今、「８割の美学」がある。今大会前、コンディションは急上昇。「調子がいいからこそ今年、来年は８割の力でいこうという話をした」と明かした森泉コーチは、「力を常に使い切るのではなく、残り２割は何かがあった時のために取っておくということ。（０８年の）北京五輪の時も同じだった」と続ける。団体予選で頭を強打するアクシデントはあったが、２割の余裕を保つことで、ここまでの１８種目を乗り切った。
前人未到の６連覇で１６年リオデジャネイロ五輪の代表にも決定。０４年アテネ五輪以来の団体Ｖ、１２年ロンドン五輪に続く個人総合連覇を狙う。「五輪はまた別次元。ここから考えてやってかないと、足をすくわれる。団体も個人総合も課題が見つかったし、世界選手権と同じようにはいかない。しっかり五輪仕様にしていく」。勝ち続けても慢心はない。体操ニッポンに歓喜を、ライバルには絶望を与え続ける。それが内村航平だ
