Key events
China’s Would Jingyuan is a boss. Almost every time he does a handstand, he gets his body in perfect alignment. He throws himself down the length of the bars like a salmon jumping against the current, if only a salmon could do a full vertical handstand. His dismount is also nearly perfect.
NBC’s commentators believe this is the best routine of all time. It’s certainly the best tonight.
Difficulty 6.9, execution 9.3. That’s a 16.200. That’s the same as his score from qualifying, and yet we might think he deserved even more.
Ukraine Oleg Vernaev He’s not quite getting used to his handstand yet, so he jumps from bar to bar and spins to land on the mat.
As all gymnasts do, even when they know they’ve made a mistake that will keep them out of the podium, he goes over to the gymnast to get some chalk and jumps right back up for a flawless final 20 seconds or so.
He finishes with 13,300.
All eyes now on Would Jingyuanthe reigning champions and by far the top scorer in qualifying.
Japanese Wataru Tanigawa has a big bump early in the routine, with his body leaning towards about 2 hours before he managed to recover. He will have to settle for his gold in the team event. Poor guy.
Scores: 6.3 difficulty, 7.833 execution, 14.133. Fourth of four, with four to go.
Standings
15,500 Kovtun (UKR)
15,100 Zhang (CHN)
15,100 Americans (TUR)
14,133 Tanigawa (JPN)
Next: Ukraine Oleg Vernaev.
Turkey’s Veer Aricanthe bronze medalist in this event in Tokyo, attempts a routine similar to Kovtun’s, but even the untrained eye can see a few flaws. His handstands are curved or bent, not straight. Will the difficulty put him in contention?
He looks excited and the audience roars in appreciation. In response, he makes a heart shape with his hands.
Difficulty level 6.900, execution 8.200 – 15.100, equal with Zhang.
Next up is the silver medal winner in the men’s all-around Zhang BohengHe makes a dazzling leap and then jumps all the way along the bars from one end to the other.
He lands hunched over with his head and chest down and it takes a moment for him to straighten up again.
I think what Zhang did was harder than what Kovtun did, but since I haven’t tried either, I can’t say for sure.
Scores are in and apparently Zhang’s routine was simpler. His difficulty is 6.400, execution 8.700. That’s 15.100, slightly less than his previous efforts and well behind Kovtun, who surpassed his qualifying score here.
Ukraine Illia Kovtun builds tension with long, tightly held handstands. He doesn’t do anything spectacular in the air and he has just as little bounce when he steps down, but his form when changing positions on his handstands is fluid and confident.
It’s a 15,500 – 7,000 difficulty, 8,500 execution. That will compete for a medal.
There’s a funny ad for Hyundai in the US about kids getting burned out on one sport and trying something else. It has multiple endings. I often see one with a young girl running off to play soccer with a big smile. Another ending shows a boy making a fist as he walks into a broken down studio.
But every time my wife is in the roomit is the last one.
This morning is the end of football. I have to record it to prove to my wife that I am not hallucinating.
The heavily inked Illia Kovtun is the first in line.
NBC begins its coverage with the announcement that Tom Brady will be in attendance.
Tune in, those of you who complain about his 23-year streak of luck that led the Patriots and Buccaneers to seven championships. All luck. Well, most of it.
Men’s Parallel Bridge Setup
The best qualification is that of China Would Jingyuanwith a breathtaking 16.200. Teammate Zhang Boheng qualified second with a 15.333. Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka was next at 15,300, when Ukraine Oleg Vernaev (15,266), Germany Lucas Dauser (15,166), Ukraine Illia Kovtun (15,166), Turkey Veer Arican (15,033) and Japan Wataru Tanigawa (15,000).
Kovtun had a slightly higher score in the team event with a 15.433 and was the top performer on the apparatus in the all-around with a 15.400. He finished fourth overall behind Oka, Zhang and China’s Xiao Ruoteng.
Preamble
Goooooooood morning, USA! Yes, it’s still dark and many of you are still reeling from Noah Lyles’ win yesterday, but it’s time to move on from the current fastest man to the GOAT of women’s gymnastics, Simone Biles, who shares the podium with Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Rebeca Andrade, and Alice D’Amato on the final day of gymnastics competition.
Biles, Lee, Andrade and D’Amato will compete in the balance beam competition at 6:38 a.m. ET. Chiles will replace Lee in the floor exercise, the final event of the day, at 8:23 a.m. ET.
There are also two men’s apparatus finals: the high bar at 7:33 (but first) and the men’s parallel bars at 5:45.
Grab your coffee or tea and read along.
Beau will be here soon. In the meantime, here’s how Simone Biles did in her last event:
At last year’s world championships, just days after her spectacular comeback began with a stunning all-around gold medal, Simone Biles’ first vault final ended in a fall. It was the first time she had performed her Yurchenko double pike in a major final, and as she reached for the floor after the vault, her legs collapsed beneath her. Biles finished second behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
As the Biles redemption tour continues and the gold medals continue to roll in, she cemented her status as the greatest vaulter of all time, holding off Andrade with another stunning display. Biles finished the vaulting final with an average score of 15.3 points. Andrade averaged 14.966, while Biles’ teammate, Jade Carey, scored 14.466 for bronze.
This is the second time Biles has won the gold medal on the vault, following 2016. With three gold medals – in the team, all-around and vault – she has now won 40 Olympic and world medals, further extending her record as the most decorated gymnast – male or female.
You can read the full report below: