Japan's Koehi Uchimura once again showed why he was the favorite for the men's All-Around title at the Gymnastics Worlds this week, winning his fifth title in a row. Note to other would-be greats: his fourth victory last year was a record then for straight wins, so he's raised the bar now emphatically. Despite a relatively poor showing on the night in the parallel bars and pommel horse where he finished 9th and 5th, respectively, amongst the 24 competitors, he did finish either first or second on the other four apparatus to stand alone at the top.
Behind him, the final seemed to be an engaging list of competitors from a diverse list of nations. Silver-medalist Max Whitlock continued Great Britain's recent - and relatively surprising - strong showing in the sport since their team bronze in London 2012. Colombian Jossimar Calvo Moreno had top-four scores in two apparatus to finish in tenth overall. Sergio Saski Junior finished in the top five on three events to finish seventh overall, perhaps giving Brazil some inspiration to look with medal anticipation at Rio 2016. On the other hand, it was sure to be a disappointing event for the traditional powers. To wit, China's highest placement was sixth with Deng Shudi and the USA's best hope Sam Mikulak could only muster twelfth after a disastrous pommel horse. The rest of the world again proving overall, though, that there is good gymnastics in all corners, with 17 different nations represented in the final, and five separate nations securing a top score across the six apparatus.
However, With Uchimura admitting to a mission to continue competing until the 2020 Olympics in his home country, that rest of the world may be in for a tough few years of trying to catch-up. It will be fun to watch him go for how many more titles? At this rate, he could end up with nine overall before those 2020 Games. Watch out.
Behind him, the final seemed to be an engaging list of competitors from a diverse list of nations. Silver-medalist Max Whitlock continued Great Britain's recent - and relatively surprising - strong showing in the sport since their team bronze in London 2012. Colombian Jossimar Calvo Moreno had top-four scores in two apparatus to finish in tenth overall. Sergio Saski Junior finished in the top five on three events to finish seventh overall, perhaps giving Brazil some inspiration to look with medal anticipation at Rio 2016. On the other hand, it was sure to be a disappointing event for the traditional powers. To wit, China's highest placement was sixth with Deng Shudi and the USA's best hope Sam Mikulak could only muster twelfth after a disastrous pommel horse. The rest of the world again proving overall, though, that there is good gymnastics in all corners, with 17 different nations represented in the final, and five separate nations securing a top score across the six apparatus.
However, With Uchimura admitting to a mission to continue competing until the 2020 Olympics in his home country, that rest of the world may be in for a tough few years of trying to catch-up. It will be fun to watch him go for how many more titles? At this rate, he could end up with nine overall before those 2020 Games. Watch out.
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