Olympics & Paralympics

Japan Gymnast Shinnosuke Oka Claims 3rd Gold Medal at Paris Olympics; Men’s Volleyball Loses to Italy in Quarterfinals

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:24 JST, August 6, 2024

PARIS — Shinnosuke Oka took home the gold medal in the horizontal bar and bronze in the parallel bars events for men’s artistic gymnastics at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

Oka, 20, has now earned four medals in his Olympic debut, including golds in the men’s team and individual all-around events.

Oka is the first Japanese athlete to win three gold medals at a single Olympics since gymnast Sawao Kato achieved the feat at the 1972 Munich Games.

The men’s volleyball team lost to Italy in a close match in the quarterfinals.

‘Top-ranked finish miracle’

By Tsukasa Oya / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

Shinnosuke Oka, one of eight gymnasts in the horizontal bar final, was the second to perform and managed to stick the landing at the end of his routine.

His final score was 14.533, the same mark he received in qualifications, where he came in fifth.

However, the horizontal bar final was full of twists and turns no one saw coming.

The other gymnasts, including Takaaki Sugino, made such serious errors as falling off the bar.

When the final ended, Oka, who did not make any mistakes, and Colombian gymnast Angel Barajas were tied for the top spot.

The gold medalist was decided after their scores were broken down. Oka scored a 5.900 for level of difficulty and 8.633 for execution. Barajas scored 6.600 for level of difficulty and 7.933 for execution.

The rules state that if the total scores are equal, the gymnast with the higher execution score is ranked higher, resulting in Oka winning his third gold medal in Paris.

“It’s a miracle,” Oka said.

Of course, the miracle was the result of his beautiful performance and his skills, which he has honed through hard work and training every day.