No one was surprised that Yang Wei defended his All-around title. They were surprised when he fell.
STUTTGART, Germany (AFP) — Yang Wei survived a fall from the high bar to give China their second gold medal of the world gymnastics championships here on Friday.
A day after helping China win a record-equalling eighth men’s team crown the 27-year-old Yang took his seventh world gold.
The veteran had looked to be coasting to victory when he dominated the competition, scoring highest on three of the six apparatus – pommel horse, rings and parallel bars.
But despite taking a confortable 3.550-lead onto the final apparatus Yang’s gold medal hopes had looked in the balance when he fell badly from the high bar, scoring the lowest mark in the 23-man field with just 13.600.
His lead was however enough to secure victory with a combined 93.675 points which put him 1.475 ahead of Germany’s Fabian Hambuechen, who snatched his country’s first all-around silver after his acrobatics on the high bar.
Japan’s Hisashi Mizutori took bronze with 91.400, as his teammate Hiroyuki Tomita, the 2005 champion and last year’s runner-up, dropped to 12th after a poor showing. …
AFP: Chinese gymnast Yang wins all-around gold at world championships
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