OLYMPICS/ Shinnosuke Oka claims 3rd gold medal,henken Zou Jingyuan defends parallel bars title

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 6, 2024 at 11:35 JST

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Shinnosuke Oka of Japan competes on the high bar on day three of the gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, Aug 5, 2024, Paris, France. (USA TODAY Sports/ via REUTERS)

PARIS--Zou Jingyuan lived up to his nickname and Shinnosuke Oka capped off his dream Olympic debut with another gold medal.

The King of Parallel Bars was close to perfection Monday to defend his Olympic title on the apparatus on the final day of artistic gymnastics at the Paris Games.

It was a rare feat from Zou, who became the first man to defend his title on parallel bars at the Olympics since Sawao Kato of Japan in 1976.

Zou, who is also a three-time world champion in the discipline, claimed gold ahead of Illia Kovtun of Ukraine. Shinnosuke Oka of Japan, the all-around champion, took bronze, before he won the horizontal bar title.

A right shoulder injury has been hampering Zou in the buildup to the Games and in Paris. He said his “passion for gymnastics” helped him through.

It was Zou’s third medal in Paris after he and his teammates were runner-up behind Japan in the team event. He also claimed a silver in rings.

“I’m super excited for this result, because coming to these Olympics, I had injuries,” he said. “I didn’t really practice that much. But I went through my routine over and over again in my head, so many times. I had pain in my body, but coming here and seeing all the crowd supporting us has helped me a lot. It made me feel better.”

Kovtun kicked off the event with a difficult routine that included a spectacular handstand on one rail that impressed judges and earned him a score of 15.500.

He remained in the lead until Zou posted a massive 16.200 with a sublime routine combining strength elements with impressive aerials that he capped with a stuck dismount. That was the highest single score in artistic gymnastics at these Games.

Oka concluded his Paris Games with a gold on the horizontal bar, his third gold of these Olympics.

The former junior world champion whose career was put on hold by a serious knee injury two years ago edged Angel Barajas of Colombia. Both athletes finished tied for first position with 14.533 points, but Oka was declared the winner thanks to a better execution note.

“I didn’t really expect to win a gold medal on the horizontal bar,” Oka said. “But I didn’t make any mistakes.”

Oka, who upset favorites to win the all-around at his first Olympics, said his favorite medal was the gold he won in the team final

“Because that’s what we’ve been working so hard for,” he said. “It’s a collective result.”

Oka, who won the junior world title when he was 15 but then tore his right ACL, has recently resurfaced at the top of men’s gymnastics.

The horizontal bar contest was very tight. Behind Oka and Barajas — who claimed Colombia’s first ever medal in gymnastics — Zhang Boheng of China and Tang Chia-Hung of Taiwan shared the bronze medal with a score of 13.966 points and an identical execution note.