BEIJING: China’s men slammed the door on the rest of the gymnastics world yesterday when they obliterated their rivals to pick up two more gold medals at the Olympics.
On the final day of competition, Zou Kai became the most successful gymnast in Beijing when he scooped his third title with a high-flying performance on the horizontal bar.
His triumph increased the host nation’s gold medal haul in the sport to nine, easily eclipsing their stash of five won during the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Zou’s success came hot on the heels of Li Xiaopeng’s triumphant showing on the parallel bars.
After wobbling his way to a bronze in Athens, Li wiped away four years of hurt with his free-flowing movement on the bars.
“I think the significance of this is even greater because from my failure (in 2004) to winning this gold medal today, I put in an enormous effort. It’s not at all easy. I am very proud of myself,” said Li, who had also won the crown in 2000.
The last competitor on the apparatus, Li keenly watched what his challengers would produce. That benchmark was set at 16.250 by South Korea’s Yoo Won-chul in a contest littered with errors.
As soon as the 27-year-old Li mounted the apparatus, Yoo must have known the gold was out of reach.
Li executed a backward swinging somersault and seamlessly moved into a rigid handstand before sticking his dismount.
The thud of his feet on the mat was soon drowned out by the crowd’s frenzied cheering and Li punched the air with a clenched fist long before the judges delivered their verdict of 16.450.
Among the first to congratulate Li was all-around champion Yang Wei, who had come into the arena especially to see his team mate compete.
Uzbekistan’s Anton Fokin took the bronze in the event where the top three were the only ones not to make any glaring errors. Li Shanshan had been tipped to keep up China’s victory parade as she had been the top qualifier on the balance beam and she drew gasps from the 18,000 fans as she began her display by showing off a string of fast-paced backward flips.
But within seconds the crowd were hushed into silence when she slipped off the 10cm-wide wood while attempting a full twisting backward flip.
She hung on for dear life by clinging on to the beam from underneath the apparatus but had to let go, and with it her medal hopes also vanished.
Her misfortune allowed American Shawn Johnson to finally lay her hands on an Olympic gold.
The 16-year-old outshone rivals Nastia Liukin and Cheng Fei with her deft footwork to end a run of three silver-medal winning performances in Beijing.
“I’ve put everything toward the beam and to finally get a gold medal ... on my very last routine, it meant the world,” Johnson, who earned 16.225, told reporters.
However, it was not long before the strains of the Chinese national anthem “March of the Volunteers” was once again reverberating around the National Indoor Stadium.
In what is normally considered China’s bogey apparatus, Zou soared past his rivals with his daredevil antics on the horizontal bar and triumphed with a score of 16.200.
“I never thought I could win the gold medal because I have never performed this difficulty level before,” said Zou.
American Jonathan Horton capitalized on spills and wobbles by the other leading contenders to capture a surprise silver while world champion Fabian Hambuechen of Germany settled for bronze.
Having added the bar title to his team and floor success, Zou celebrated by holding aloft his index finger as if to say “I am No. 1.” No one could dispute that.
