Kohei Uchimura set the gold standard in men's gymnastics, winning six consecutive world titles in the all-around competition between 2009 and 2015.
Since King Kohei's retirement in January 2022, Daiki Hashimoto has staked his claim as his successor.
In fact, winning the gold medal in the all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was a harbinger of things to come for Hashimoto.
The Chiba Prefecture native captured his first world title in the all-around at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England. Hashimoto then repeated as all-around champ in 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Then, on Wednesday night, October 22, in Jakarta, Hashimoto etched his name in the record book with a feat that only Uchimura had previously achieved. Hashimoto won his third straight all-around world title.
Exceptional consistency throughout the competition played a pivotal role in Hashimoto's triumph. He finished with 85.131 points in the six-apparatus event.
China's Boheng Zhang earned the silver with 84.33 points, followed by Sweden's Noe Seifert with 82.831. Shinnosuke Oka, the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist in this event, placed fifth with 81.797.
"It was a very tough and close battle until the very end, but I trusted myself and was able to stay focused on my performance," Hashimoto said, according to Olympics.com. "I think that belief in myself led to the final result, and when I nailed the high bar at the end, it felt amazing."
The Path to Victory for Hashimoto
In Wednesday night's tough competition at Indonesia Arena, Oka led by nearly 0.5 points over Zhang after the fourth of six routines. And Hashimoto was in third, another 0.1 points behind Zhang.
Oka struggled in the floor exercise, his fifth routine (11.866 points) and slipped out of title contention.
Hashimoto, who had led earlier in the night, regained the lead with an impressive showing on the parallel bars. He received a score of 14.433 for his routine. Zhang's showing on the parallel bars was ordinary by comparison (13.933).
As a result, Hashimoto was back at the top of the leaderboard.
Hashimoto still had one routine left (the horizontal bar), but he had already seized control at a critical moment. And in his final phase of the all-around final at the world championships, Hashimoto earned a sterling score of 14.700 on the horizontal bar.
"I won through perseverance," Hashimoto said, according to Kyodo News, before adding, "I'm glad I've managed to perform while trusting myself right until the very end."
Speaking of his horizontal bar routine, he added: "It felt really nice the moment I landed perfectly. I was able to perform without letting my guard down while also being focused, and that brought me the result."
A Motivational Force for the Gymnastics Star
King Kohei remains the exemplar for Hashimoto in his chosen sport. And with another title next to his name, the three-time world champion remains in awe of what Uchimura accomplished.
"I think of him as superhuman … [and] I want to do something that is superhuman too," Hashimoto was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "Having a chance to challenge that is one of the joys of my life."
RELATED:
- Daiki Hashimoto Powers Japan to Gold in the Men's Gymnastics Team Final
- [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Gymnastics Star Daiki Hashimoto Defends World Title
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login