Games of the XXX Olympiad
London (GBR), July 27 – August 12, 2012
LONDON (GBR), FIG Office, August 7, 2012: “Fly Epke Fly!” read the banner hanging from one of the boxes in the North Greenwich Arena and fly is just what Epke Zonderland did on the Horizontal Bar on Tuesday, the Dutchman swinging his way to the Netherlands’ first ever men’s gymnastics gold medal as the Olympic Games’ Artistic Gymnastics programme concluded in exciting fashion.
Zonderland’s victory was the most spectacular of a day that also brought first gold medals for China’s Feng Zhe and Sui Lu – on Men’s Parallel Bars and Women’s Beam respectively – before Aly Raisman’s triumph on Floor ended the Games on a winning note for USA.
China finished with four golds to the United States’ three at the top of the medal standings but for the Dutch fans inside the arena, just the one was enough after Zonderland’s historic feat. “I still can't believe it,” said the 26-year-old. “It's unique to be in an Olympic final if you're a Dutch gymnast, and winning the gold is bizarre. I worked so long to achieve a result like this.”
Zonderland’s gold – the Netherlands’ first gymnastics medal of any kind since the Dutch women won the 1928 Team event – was his reward for a routine that showcased a thrilling triple somersault combination.
It earned him 16.533 points – 7.900 in difficulty and 8.633 in execution – and took him past Fabian Hambuchen, the bronze medallist in Beijing who had to settle for silver but had no complaints. “Epke performed a fantastic routine. We have been friends for over 10 years. I am very happy for him," said the German.
Hambuchen himself earned the highest execution score of the final (8.9) as he collected 16.400 points to push defending champion Zou Kai into the bronze medal position. A disappointed Zou said: “Today my performance wasn't perfect. I wasn't stable and I lost balance.”
Results Horizontal Bar
There was better news for China in the Women’s Beam final as Deng Linlin pipped her team-mate Sui Lu to gold by a margin of just 0.1 points. The pair recorded identical scores of 9.000 for difficulty but Deng earned 6.600 for execution for a total of 15.600.
A delighted Deng said: “I made a mistake in the women's Team event [where China finished fourth] so this medal compensates for that." Sui, the reigning world champion, was visibly upset to finish second to her team-mate. “I am the world champion on Beam and there was a lot of expectation for me,” she said. “Being first on the Beam also gave me some pressure.”
The bronze medal went to USA’s Raisman, who was originally placed fourth behind Catalina Ponor but leapfrogged the Romanian after a successful appeal to the judges. Raisman’s initial score was 14.966 but the inquiry boosted her difficulty by 0.1 to 6.300 and in the process she joined Ponor on 15.066 – edging her off the podium by virtue of her higher execution score.
Results Balance Beam
“I think they were arguing about my full turn and not giving me the connection,” explained Raisman, who completed an afternoon she will never forget by winning gold on Floor – the first American to do so. “I went out into the next event with a really good feeling. It was the best routine I've ever done."
Raisman scored 15.600 for a high-energy performance to the Hebrew folk song Hava Nagila, which was particularly notable for the smoothness of her tumbling. It meant that once again she got the better of Ponor, who had to settle for the silver. Having also won gold in the Team event, Raisman turned up in the press conference room with three medals jangling around her neck. “Today a dream has come true,” she said.
Ponor will have felt differently. The Romanian produced a sophisticated performance to Fever but her difficulty was 0.3 less and her tumbling less tidy and she scored 15.200. The 24-year-old – a triple gold medallist at Athens 2004 – described the result of the beam as “disappointing” yet she had no regrets about her decision to come out of retirement and return to the Olympic stage. “I have already been an Olympic champion. I will quit gymnastics with my head held high.”
Aliya Mustafina of Russia collected the bronze on a tie-break with Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari – outscoring her for execution after the pair were level on 14.900 points. It was Mustafina’s fourth medal in London and the second won on a tie-break after she denied Raisman the All-around bronze. She described her success as “unexpected”, adding: "It's a great pleasure to win so many medals for my country."
Results Women's Floor Exercise
The day had opened with the Men’s Parallel Bars final, which ended with China’s Feng Zhe topping the podium after an impressively controlled routine which earned him 15.966 points – including the top difficulty score of 7.000. He could not have been happier, declaring: “I think it was perfect.”
Germany’s Marcel Nguyen took silver with 15.8 points – his second silver after placing second in the Individual All-around – and there was a surprise bronze medallist in France’s Hamilton Sabot who had qualified in joint-eighth place for the final but now earned his country their first – and only – gymnastics medal of these Games. “Anything can happen in an Olympic final,” he said. “My hand was hurting but you forget everything in a final.”
Results Parallel Bars
Find more information at http://www.london2012.fig-gymnastics.com
