LIVERPOOL, England – A Japanese gymnast once again holds the titles of world and Olympic all-around champion at the same time, with Daiki Hashimoto earning his first world all-around title on Friday night, a year after winning Olympic gold.
Hashimoto and China’s Boheng Zhang continued a rivalry that began at last year’s world championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. This time, Hashimoto emerged victorious in the all-around – 87.198 to 86.765.
While the final tally seemed close, it always felt as if Hashimoto was in control of his own fate. He qualified second, behind Wataru Tanigawa (JPN), after falling on pommel horse, and Zhang entered Friday with the fifth-best score of qualifying after falling on his still rings dismount. But even Tanigawa knew the likelihood of Monday’s results repeating themselves.
“If Hashimoto produces the performance that he can do, I have no chance,” Tanigawa said Monday.
For his part, Hashimoto rose to the occasion. Starting on floor and rotating in Olympic order with the other top six qualifiers, the 21-year-old didn’t seem to miss a beat all night, going six-for-six and producing highlight reel routines on floor (14.666), parallel bars (15.000), and high bar (14.433).
“This gold medal is very important for me,” Hashimoto said after the meet. “Last year, I couldn’t win the gold medal at the world championships, which was a pity for me.”
A little over a year ago, Hashimoto lost to Zhang in the world final, but even hitting all of his routines wasn’t enough for China’s 22-year-old to defend his title on Friday night.
“I did reduce some of my difficulty in my floor routine on purpose, because I am not 100% fit,” Zhang said about reducing his difficulty score on floor from a 6.1 to a 5.8. “I am still battling with wrist and waist injuries. After two sections of podium training and the team final, I definitely felt a bit tired. That is why I would rather make it safer to reduce the difficulty, aiming for better execution.”
Zhang beat Hashimoto on two events: rings (14.100) and parallel bars (15.066), but the margins weren’t there for a potential come-from-behind win.
“He did great today, especially on pommel horse, floor, and horizontal bar,” Zhang said of Hashimoto. “I think we are both strong contenders. In competition, it always comes down to who performs the best, and it was him today.”
It’s another chapter in a rivalry that could continue for the foreseeable future, especially with the 2024 Paris Olympic Games less than two years away.
“His performance is so good,” Hashimoto said. “I couldn’t win this competition last year because he won, so I felt sad. Competing against him was a motivation [today]. The battle with Zhang Boheng is so good.”
The U.S. men finished just off the podium, with Brody Malone 4th and Asher Hong 6th. It’s the first pair of U.S. men to finish in the top 10 in the world since 2003.
The 18-year-old Hong qualified 6th and earned the opportunity to rotate with the leaders, including two of the biggest names in gymnastics today. The pressure never seemed to get to him; the first-year senior hit his first five routines before a fall on high bar in the last rotation kept him from securing 5th.
“I wasn’t nervous at all this week,” Hong said. “I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was young. Why would I be afraid of showing off my gymnastics on the world stage? I’ve trained for this; I trust the training. I’ve put so many hours in the gym and just to deny how hard I work and to be afraid of going off and showing off my gymnastics would kind of be pointless.”
After falling on his Kolman release and redoing the skill with a wild catch by his grips, Hashimoto came over and told Hong, ‘Good job,’ and gave him a hug.
“I’ve had a lot of fun just meeting all the guys,” Hong said of his time in Liverpool. “I’ve seen all these guys on Instagram, and I’ve watched on the Olympic Channel, and I’m just like ‘wow, I’m here, with these guys’. It’s just the energy around it, being next to a world champion, an Olympic champion, it’s kind of mind-blowing. So, I’ve just enjoyed the experience. I hope I can go back home and keep up the energy and get ready for the next future worlds [and] the NCAA season.”
Malone looked confident and consistent, putting rough performances in qualifying and the men’s team final behind him. Finishing on floor, the 22-year-old downgraded his second pass after falling on it twice in previous days, and it seemed to be the right call as he finished 0.300 behind Tanigawa.
