I was very happy to see Blanik, the 2000 Olympic Bronze medallist, win Vault. This means Leszek qualifies for the 2008 Olympics as Poland had not earlier qualified any athletes.
Blanik was not allowed to compete in 2004 even though he was one of the very best vaulters in the World. Only the #1 gymnast on each apparatus at this competition gets a ticket to Beijing.
Poland’s Leszek Blanik wins men’s vault gold
STUTTGART, Germany, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Leszek Blanik grabbed gold on the vault on Sunday to give Poland their first medal of these world gymnastics championships.
His explosive somersaults and solid landings allowed him to beat Romania’s Ilie Daniel Popescu by just 0.012 points with an average score of 16.512 for his two vaults.North Korea’s Ri Se-gwang took the bronze.
Defending champion Marian Dragulescu of Romania was forced to miss the championships because of a back injury.
Poland’s Leszek Blanik celebrates after his vault exercise on his way to win the gold medal during the men’s vault final of the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)
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