Shi Cong
Welcome to the live blog for the men’s all-around final at the 2021 World Championships, held in Kitakyushu, Japan!
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7:37 am. AA Standings
1. Zhang Boheng CHN 87.981
2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 87.964
3. Illia Kovtun UKR 84.899
4. Yul Moldauer USA 84.365
5. Ahmet Önder TUR 84.232
6. Shi Cong CHN 84.057
7. Joel Plata ESP 83.365
8. William Emard CAN 83.256
9. Joshua Nathan GBR 83.231
10. Nestor Abad ESP 82.731
11. Adem Asil TUR 82.699
12. Henji Mboyo SUI 82.691
13. Caio Souza BRA 82.665
14. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN 81.581
15. Robert Tvorogal LTU 81.540
16. Luka van den Keybus BEL 81.265
17. Nikita Ignatyev RUS 80.647
18. Robert Kirmes FIN 79.797
19. Nikolaos Iliopoulos GRE 79.739
20. Noah Kuavita BEL 79.598
21. Sofus Heggemsnes NOR 79.299
22. Oskar Kirmes FIN 78.231
23. Eyal Indig ISR 76.264
24. Alexander Benda 74.165
7:35 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN HB: Cassina, Kolman, layout Tkachev to straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, tak full is a little crooked, Yamawaki, stalder, hop full, double double layout dismount lands deep with a big hop forward. Amazing on the bar, but is it going to be enough? He needs above a 15.150! He doesn’t do it! 15.133 (6.5, 8.633)
He’ll finish 0.017 behind Zhang Boheng in the all-around!
7:32 am. Zhang Boheng CHN HB: Huge Cassina, huge Kolman, huge and lovely Kovacs, German giants, amazing, blind change to front giant into his tak full, so controlled, tak half, stalder, ugh, but then lunges back on the double double layout dismount! 14.800 (6.2, 8.600)
7:31 am. Sofus Heggemsnes NOR SR: 13.233 (4.6, 8.633)
7:29 am. Yul Moldauer USA PH: We didn’t see it but the score!!! 14.866 (6.3, 8.566)
7:26 am. Adem Asil TUR HB: Big Yamawaki half, one-arm front pirouette, tak half with leg separation, layout Tkachev, layout Tkachev to mixed grip, tak full is a bit late, straddle Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, stalder, and a full-twisting double layout, a little short but gets the landing. 13.800 (5.9, 7.900)
Henji Mboyo SUI PH: 13.700 (5.4, 8.300)
Alexander Benda AUT SR: 12.666 (4.3, 8.366)
7:24 am. Ahmet Önder TUR FX: Front full to double front half, hop back. 2.5 to rudi, a little low with a hop. Double double, deep with a hop forward. 1.5 to barani. Double full stuck. Just a wobble. Triple full, a bit shy in rotation but great routine! 14.100 (5.7, 8.400)
Joshua Nathan GBR PH: 15.000 (6.9, 8.100)
Oskar Kirmes FIN SR: 12.500 (4.5, 8.000)
7:23 am. Joel Plata ESP FX: 14.133 (5.7, 8.433)
Robert Kirmes FIN PH: 13.700 (5.5, 8.200)
7:22 am. Shi Cong CHN HB: One-arm front pirouette, big Cassina, great Kolman, stalder 1.5 is late, layout Jaeger to Endo, front Endo full, I love this composition. Double double layout, big lunge forward. 14.300 (6.1, 8.200)
7:21 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU FX: 13.033 (5.1, 7.933)
Eyal Indig ISR SR: 11.166 (4.0, 7.166)
7:19 am. Illia Kovtun UKR HB: Layout Tkachev to straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, one-arm front pirouette, Yamawaki caught a little crooked, straddle Tkachev, layout Tkachev to mixed grip, tak full looked lovely, tak half, hop full, double double layout with a little hop in place. Just excellent! 14.500 (6.2, 8.300)
7:17 am. Caio Souza BRA PH: Muscled out of his scissors to handstand, and was a little stuck when he came back down. Some leg form on his circles, and then going into his Russians as well, with breaks. Travels and legs come apart, he falls. I hate him ending on pommels. Gets back to finish strong, but ugh. 12.200 (5.5, 6.700)
7:15 am. Noah Kuavita BEL SR: 12.366 (5.1, 7.266)
7:14 am. Nestor Abad ESP PH: Really strong beginning, his transition into the flairs and then out of them was gorgeous. Lost some hip form near the end but this was excellent overall! What a day for him. 13.133 (5.0, 8.133)
Luka van den Keybus BEL FX: 13.666 (5.3, 8.366)
7:12 am. This is going to be such a fun and heart attack-inducing final rotation for both the gold fight and the bronze fight!
7:11 am. Touch warm-up wrapping up shortly!
7:08 am. Rotation 5 Standings
1. Zhang Boheng CHN 73.181
2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 72.831
3. Caio Souza BRA 70.465
4. Illia Kovtun UKR 70.399
5. Ahmet Önder TUR 70.132
6. Shi Cong CHN 69.757
7. Yul Moldauer USA 69.499
8. Nestor Abad ESP 69.498
7:05 am. Zhang Boheng CHN PB: Really clean start, all the way through to the straddle salto, huge and crisp Bhavsar, to pike hold pressed to handstand, Tippelt, slow but controlled to handstand, he’s showing off there! Beautiful handstand after, double front half-out stuck! This was brilliant.
7:04 am. Adem Asil TUR PB: Arched over his first handstand, then a little arch on the next, good single rail transition, and back, big straddle salto, good swing up to handstand, jerky on getting the Tippelt up, then a hop on the double front. 12.600 (5.4, 7.200)
7:03 am. Henji Mboyo SUI FX: 13.700 (5.4, 8.300)
Alexander Benda AUT PH: 11.200 (4.4, 6.800)
7:01 am. Ahmet Önder TUR HB: Layout Tkachev, then one to mixed grip, more good Tkachevs after that, tak, tak half, maybe a little late, stalder, hop full, double double layout with a little hop forward. 13.900 (5.7, 8.200)
Joshua Nathan GBR FX: 13.700 (5.7, 8.000)
7:00 am. Shi Cong CHN PB: Beautiful single rail transitions but falls out of it onto his elbows coming out of it, UGH. Front straddle salto, Bhavsar, Tippelt, good, just slow to get to handstand, lovely piked double back dismount. 13.400 (5.6, 7.800)
Joel Plata ESP HB: 13.600 (5.4, 8.200)
Oskar Kirmes FIN PB: 13.333 (5.1, 8.233)
6:59 am. Robert Kirmes FIN FX: 13.866 (5.9, 8.066, -0.1)
6:58 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU HB: Lovely front pirouette right off the bat. Tak full was a bit of a mess though. Low layout Tkachev but still gets into the straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, Yamawaki, straddle Tkachev, stalder, and a clean full-twisting double layout with a step back. 14.000 (5.7, 8.300)
6:57 am. Eyal Indig ISR PB: 12.666 (5.4, 7.266)
6:56 am. Illia Kovtun UKR PB: Had a couple of adjustments where he had to walk his hands and iffy handstands in the first part, but he cleaned up a bit and this was overall strong. Good double front dismount, small hop. 14.400 (6.3, 8.100)
6:55 am. Nikita Ignatyev RUS PH: 12.466 (5.8, 6.666)
Krisztofer Meszaros HUN PB: 13.633 (5.8, 7.833)
William Emard CAN HB: 13.333 (4.8, 8.533)
6:52 am. Caio Souza BRA FX: Front layout to double front. Stepped OOB on his second pass, looked like a half-in full-out double tuck. 2.5 to tucked front full. 1.5 to front full, little hop forward but I think he saved it from going OOB? Maybe not. Triple full is a little weak, hop back. 13.300 (5.5, 8.200, -0.4)
6:50 am. Nestor Abad ESP FX: I wasn’t typing but the front layout to piked double front was really strong, and he had solid flair work. Just comes up short on the 2.5 at the end, big lunge forward. 13.900 (5.8, 8.100)
Noah Kuavita BEL PH: 12.900 (4.9, 8.000)
Luka van den Keybus BEL HB: 13.800 (5.6, 8.200)
6:48 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN PB: Super high straddle salto. Bhavsar was excellent. Tippelt also perfect. Step back on the double front half but this was a GORGEOUS routine. 15.066 (6.2, 8.866)
Yul Moldauer USA FX: 14.500 (5.8, 8.700)
Sofus Heggemsnes NOR PB: 13.600 (5.3, 8.300)
Nikolaos Iliopoulos GRE HB: 13.366 (5.4, 7.966)
6:46 am. Touch warm-up just wrapping up!
6:41 am. Going back to watch Henji Mboyo’s high bar! Had a big Cassina, layout Tkachev, straddle Tkachev, straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, just gets a little crooked on some of his circle elements, hop full, and a double double layout with a couple of steps back.
6:40 am. Rotation 4 Standings
1. Zhang Boheng CHN 57.815
2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 57.765
3. Caio Souza BRA 57.165
4. Shi Cong CHN 56.357
5. Adem Asil TUR 56.299
6. Ahmet Önder TUR 56.232
7. Illia Kovtun UKR 55.999
8. Joel Plata ESP 55.632
6:38 am. Joshua Nathan GBR HB: Really strong set, got all of his releases, nice form out of his front giants, a bit piked in some swings, though, and on his full-twisting double layout dismount, step back. 13.366 (5.3, 8.066)
Oskar Kirmes FIN FX: 13.566 (5.7, 7.966, -0.1)
Joel Plata ESP PB: 14.666 (5.9, 8.766)
6:37 am. Robert Kirmes FIN HB: 12.366 (4.6, 7.766)
Eyal Indig ISR FX: 12.833 (5.0, 7.933, -0.1)
6:35 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU PB: Solid routine, had a few adjustments out of handstands but had some really lovely work overall, and good skill variety. Tippelt was gorgeous. Double front low but stuck. 14.466 (5.9, 8.566)
6:34 am. William Emard CAN PB: 13.766 (5.2, 8.566)
Nikita Ignatyev RUS FX: 13.733 (5.6, 8.133)
6:33 am. Adem Asil TUR VT: Piked handspring double front half, really deep on the landing with a big lunge forward. Really close to putting his knee down! 14.700 (6.0, 8.700)
6:31 am. Caio Souza BRA HB: One arm front pirouette, Kolman, some form, layout Tkachev, straddle to mixed grip, Yamawaki connected to Gienger, hop forward on the double double layout dismount.
Noah Kuavita BEL FX: 13.600 (5.5, 8.100)
Luka van den Keybus BEL PB: 13.500 (5.0, 8.500)
6:29 am. Nestor Abad ESP HB: Got all of his Tkachev variations out of the way really well. Rest is good, but piked down the full-twisting double layout a bit, and steps forward. 13.333 (5.5, 7.833)
6:28 am. Shi Cong CHN VT: Didn’t see it. 14.658 (5.6, 9.058)
Sofus Heggemsnes NOR FX: 12.500 (4.5, 8.000)
Nikolaos Iliopoulos GRE PB: 13.666 (5.4, 8.266)
6:26 am. Yul Moldauer USA HB: I wasn’t typing but this was a great hit for him! Stuck the dismount. 13.300 (5.3, 8.000)
Illia Kovtun UKR VT: Beautiful stuck DTY! 14.300 (4.8, 9.500)
6:24 am. Ahmet Önder TUR PB: Excellent transition to the single rail and back, all of his transitions look super strong actually. Almost all of his handstands are perfect, just one short at the end, and a double front half out with a good landing. 14.800 (6.5, 8.300)
Krisztofer Meszaros HUN VT: 13.833 (4.8, 9.033)
Alexander Benda AUT FX: 12.333 (5.4, 6.933)
Henji Mboyo SUI HB: 13.933 (5.8, 8.133)
6:22 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN VT: Huuuuuge kaz double, lands it a little piked down and on his toes so he has to hop forward. Form in the air was excellent, though. 14.800 (5.6, 9.200)
6:21 am. Zhang Boheng CHN VT: Handspring randi, small hop back and some form in the air but tons of power. 14.866 (5.6, 9.266)
6:19 am. So the top group has vault coming up but this is still so exciting for Souza. RIDE THIS MOMENTUM, SON!
6:16 am. Rotation 3 Standings
1. Caio Souza BRA 43.165
2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 42.965
3. Zhang Boheng CHN 42.949
4. Nestor Abad ESP 42.265
5. Shi Cong CHN 41.699
— Illia Kovtun UKR 41.699
— Yul Moldauer USA 41.699
8. Adem Asil TUR 41.599
6:15 am. Caio Souza BRA PB: 14.566 (6.1, 8.466)
6:13 am. Shi Cong CHN SR: I wasn’t typing but this was a solid hit, if not the most difficult. Really strong body position on the full-twisting double layout dismount. Hop back. 13.733 (5.6, 8.133)
Nikita Ignatyev RUS HB: 13.566 (5.6, 7.966)
6:10 am. Noah Kuavita BEL HB: Yamawaki, huge Kovacs, straddle Tkachev to layout Tkachev, huge straddle Tkachev to mixed grip, comes out if it really well into his front swing, nails a one-arm pirouette, a little crooked going back to regular grip, stalder, and he STICKS the triple pike!!!!! This was incredible. 14.266!
6:09 am. Illia Kovtun UKR SR: Maltese, invert pike to straddle planche, saltos through a giant before his pike hold, iffy on his handstands, swinging quite a bit, double double with a hop back. 12.933 (5.0, 7.933)
6:08 am. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN SR: 13.066 (5.0, 8.066)
Nestor Abad ESP PB: 14.366 (5.8, 8.566)
6:06 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU VT: 13.666 (4.8, 8.866)
Yul Moldauer USA PB: 14.900 (6.4, 8.500)
Sofus Heggemsnes NOR HB: 13.200 (5.0, 8.200)
6:04 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN SR: Maltese to iron cross, saltos to iron cross, super high on his straddle planche, arched a bit in the handstand after, adjusts and muscles the next one, and sticks the double double! VERY nice for him. 13.966 (5.6, 8.366)
Henji Mboyo SUI PB: 13.900 (5.9, 8.000)
Alexander Benda AUT HB: 11.333 (5.2, 6.133)
William Emard CAN VT: 14.466 (5.2, 9.266)
6:03 am. Luka van den Keybus BEL VT: Really strong kaz 1.5! That was great. 14.533 (5.2, 9.333)
6:02 am. Zhang Boheng CHN SR: Maltese to invert hang to maltese, drops down to hang, saltos up to planche, hips maybe a bit high from this angle, rolls through to iron cross, another iron cross down to invert pike, then saltos up to handstand, beautiful, but swinging a bit. Adjusts on the next handstand, and a hop back on the double double. 14.600 (6.1, 8.500)
Nikolaos Iliopoulos GRE VT: Kaz full with a big hop back. 14.033 (4.8, 9.233)
6:01 am. Joshua Nathan GBR PB: 13.966 (5.7, 8.266)
Oskar Kirmes FIN HB: 11.466 (4.6, 6.866)
6:00 am. Ahmet Önder TUR VT: COMPLETELY off on the entry for his kaz 1.5, form in the air is messy in basically every way, unfortunately. Gets the landing but it’s not great. 13.966 (5.2, 8.766)
5:59 am. Joel Plata ESP VT: 14.000 (4.8, 9.200)
5:58 am. Adem Asil TUR SR: Maltese to invert hang, to maltese to iron cross, saltos to iron cross, planche, swings up to handstand, pretty solid, muscles a little on the next one, and a double double layout dismount, loses some form in the second flip but lands it well. 14.466 (6.2, 8.266)
5:57 am. Why do I feel like the rotation breaks have been seven hours long?!
5:51 am. Rotation 2 Standings
1. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 28.999
2. Illia Kovtun UKR 28.766
3. Caio Souza BRA 28.599
4. Zhang Boheng CHN 28.349
5. Shi Cong CHN 27.966
6. Nestor Abad ESP 27.899
7. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN 27.516
— Nikita Ignatyev RUS 27.516
Adem Asil down in 13th but he’ll make up for pommels on literally all of his remaining events so nothing to worry about.
5:50 am. Nikita Ignatyev RUS PB: Really big and solid salto elements. Most handstand and pirouette elements looked strong right til the end. Double front half with some form and a hop back but this is a win.
5:49 am. Noah Kuavita BEL PB: 13.166 (5.9, 7.266)
5:48 am. Going back to watch Zhang Boheng’s routine instead of watching Illia Kovtun’s live is a CHOICE when we already know Zhang effs up. Beginning is strong and his hips are nice and high for the most part but he loses his leg form early on and falls. The rest is mostly fine, some leg splits, good into the dismount.
Illia Kovtun UKR PH: We haven’t seen it yet but his score just came in. 14.400 (6.3, 8.100)
5:45 am. William Emard CAN SR: Maltese to invert hang, up to planche, nice position, through to saltos to maltese, pushes down to iron cross, lovely. Another iron cross position, to invert hang, a little arched on the next handstand, then a bigger one on the next, but just a baby step on the double double dismount. 14.625 (6.0, 8.625)
Sofus Heggemsnes NOR PB: 12.500 (5.3, 7.200)
5:44 am. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN PH: I jumped into this a second late but everything I saw looked mostly good, his hips are just a little closed and he has a couple of minor leg separations. Clean dismount. 13.716 (5.7, 8.016)
5:43 am. Caio Souza BRA VT: Kaz double with a step back, excellent! 14.633 (5.6, 9.033)
Luka van den Keybus BEL SR: 12.833 (4.5, 8.333)
Alexander Benda AUT PB: 13.000 (5.0, 8.000)
5:40 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN PH: Mounts into his flairs, stays in flairs for a bit before going Into his scissors to handstand, circles on the single pommel, and then he rolls over off the end of the horse and falls. WELP. Flair work looked nice and he’s mostly strong when he remounts, just loses his leg form once or twice. A little iffy into the dismount. 14.166 (6.4, 7.766)
Zhang Boheng CHN PH: We didn’t see this routine for some reason?! Rude. But only a 13.466 (5.8, 7.666)
5:39 am. Yul Moldauer USA VT: Kaz 1.5, clean in the air but a big hop forward. 14.333 (5.2, 9.133)
Oskar Kirmes FIN PB: 13.700 (5.2, 8.500)
Nestor Abad ESP VT: 14.233 (5.2, 9.033)
5:38 am. Henji Mboyo SUI VT: Handspring double front, deep landing with a big step back OOB. Almost a sit but powers it up. 14.058 (5.2, 8.958, -0.1)
5:37 am. Adem Asil TUR PH: Didn’t see it but looks not great. But also kind of typical for his pommels scores? 12.733 (5.2, 7.533)
5:36 am. Ahmet Önder TUR SR: Maltese to invert hang, swings through to maltese into the iron cross, invert pike through to his saltos up to straddle planche, hips start high but drop low, short on the handstand after, next one is better but swaying a bit, double double with a little step to the side. 13.666 (5.5, 8.166)
5:35 am. Joel Plata ESP SR: 13.200 (5.0, 8.200)
Eyal Indig ISR PB: 13.300 (4.7, 8.600)
5:34 am. Joshua Nathan GBR VT: Kaz 1.5, some leg form on the preflight and close to the landing, and a lunge forward. 14.366 (5.2, 9.166)
5:33 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU SR: 13.175 (4.5, 8.675)
5:32 am. Shi Cong CHN PH: Scissor up to handstand back down to scissor work, some big leg form breaks on one of his circles and then again on his Russians, just giving away a bit too much but good recoveries both times. Nails the dismount sequence. 13.500 (5.9, 7.600)
Robert Kirmes FIN VT: 13.966 (4.8, 9.166)
5:29 am. Some delay going into the next rotation, because Yul Moldauer submitted an inquiry on his rings score. Not that it would change the standings…
5:28 am. Rotation 1 Standings
1. Zhang Boheng CHN 14.883
2. Hashimoto Daiki JPN 14.833
3. Shi Cong CHN 14.466
4. Adem Asil TUR 14.400
5. Illia Kovtun UKR 14.366
6. Sofus Heggemsnes NOR 14.266
7. Nikita Ignatyev RUS 14.116
8. Caio Souza BRA 13.966
5:27 am. Going back to watch Sofus Heggemsnes on vault, kaz 1.5 with some knee form, and a huge hop forward. Perfect 10 for his bow to the judges!
5:26 am. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN FX: We didn’t get to see it. 13.800 (5.9, 8.000, -0.1)
5:25 am. Nestor Abad ESP SR: They went back and showed this, he had one significant arch in a handstand, but otherwise looked good, just deep with a lunge on the double double dismount. 13.666 (5.5, 8.166)
5:23 am. Yul Moldauer USA SR: Maltese, drops to hang, invert hang down to pike, swings through to a maltese, took him a second to get there, through to iron cross, drops down to hang. Handstand is a bit shaky and sway-backed. Saltos to iron cross, opens his palms but swings a little. Invert hang, maybe some angle eon the straddle planche, then comes up short for the double double and puts his hand down behind him. 12.466
Luka van den Keybus BEL PH: 12.033 (4.9, 7.133)
5:21 am. Hashimoto Daiki JPN FX: Double double, stuck it. Front full to randi, chest down with a wobble. 2.5 to front double full is strong. 1.5 to rudi. Double full. Japanese press handstand. Little bounce on the triple full. Beautiful work overall. 14.833 (6.0, 8.833)
5:18 am. Zhang Boheng CHN FX: Front full to piked double front. Piked double front half with a little hop back, but nice form in the air. 2.5 to front double full, some legs, but good landing and direction even though he maybe came out of the 2.5 a little late. Randi, little shuffle back. Tiny bounce on the double full. Russians into a split, then presses out into a Japanese handstand. Triple full, little bounce. 14.883 (6.3, 8.583)
5:17 am. Ahmet Önder TUR PH: 13.700 (5.6, 8.100)
Joshua Nathan GBR SR: 12.833 (4.5, 8.333)
Noah Kuavita BEL VT: 13.300 (5.2, 8.100)
5:15 am. Joel Plata ESP PH: Some hip form as he worked through the routine, and some leg form going into the dismount, but overall a really strong set. 13.766 (5.6, 8.166)
Sofus Heggemsnes NOR VT: 14.266 (5.2, 9.066)
5:14 am. Adem Asil TUR FX: Front layout to piked double front half, stuck. Front full to piked double front, stepped OOB. Hop back on the double double and hop forward on the arabian double front, goes a bit low and long. Double full with a small hop back. Stuck the arabian double front half out. Or was it a full-in? I missed the entry so probably wrong. Half great, half iffy with those landings. 14.400 (6.0, 8.500, -0.1)
Alexander Benda AUT VT: 13.633 (4.8, 8.833)
Robert Kirmes FIN SR: 12.633 (4.6, 8.033)
5:13 am. Shi Cong CHN FX: We didn’t get to see it, unfortunately. 14.466 (5.9, 8.566)
Oskar Kirmes FIN VT: 13.666 (4.8, 8.866)
5:12 am. Robert Tvorogal LTU PH: Legs were a little weak in the scissors at the start, but once he gets into his straight body position he cleans up really well, all of his circles, traveling, Russians, and everything look fine. Easy dismount to finish strong. 13.200 (4.9, 8.300)
5:10 am. Caio Souza BRA SR: Maltese to iron cross, invert hang into his saltos through to iron cross, a little swing as he adjusts into the position. Straddle planche, hips drop a little, and his back is a bit swayed in the subsequent handstand. Next handstand is a little better, and he STICKS the double double! Not his best routine but the ending was fab. 13.966 (5.5, 8.466)
William Emard CAN PH: 12.333 (3.8, 8.533)
Eyal Indig ISR VT: 13.466 (4.8, 8.766, -0.1)
5:09 am. Nikita Ignatyev RUS VT: 14.116 (5.2, 8.916)
5:08 am. Illia Kovtun UKR FX: 3.5 to barani, foot just out of bounds. 2.5 to front full. Randi with a tiny bounce. Arabian double front half-out with a step. Pretty clean double full. Flairs for his little side bit, good. Triple full, some crossed ankles, little bounce. Landings weren’t a hundred percent there but they weren’t bad, either. Just not as crisp as he’s capable of. 14.366 (5.9, 8.466)
5:07 am. Should be getting started now!
5:03 am. Athletes are marching out now!
5:00 am. Good morning everyone! I’m watching on the Olympic Channel app, and on the FIG YouTube stream, using Nord VPN set to Czechia. Live results are available through Longines.
Some updates to the start lists – Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan has withdrawn to focus on his event finals, and while I haven’t seen a reason why Ilias Georgiou has also withdrawn, he’s in the high bar final, so I’d imagine that’s also a possibility for him. This means both Robert Kirmes and Nikolaos Iliopoulos are in, joining fellow reserve Alexander Benda, who stepped in for Jossimar Calvo, who tested positive for COVID.
I wrote about the all-around field in a recap of qualifications, but for a quick preview, Hashimoto Daiki and Zhang Boheng will be fighting for gold here, while there are several guys in the mix for bronze, including Adem Asil and Illia Kovtun as my two favorites, but Shi Cong should also be a top challenger, and so will Ahmet Önder and Caio Souza if they can make a few improvements from their prelims performances. I’m also hoping we see a massive jump from Nikita Ignatyev, who shockingly qualified in 23rd. I don’t see him as capable of medaling, but he should realistically be in the top eight in this field. Fingers crossed for a better day today!