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Alsharq Tribune-M.Essam
Japan's Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto claimed his third consecutive world title in the men's all-around final with a total of 85.131 points at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday.
China's Zhang Boheng, the 2021 world champion, took the silver medal on 84.333 points, while Switzerland's Noe Seifert earned his first-ever world championship bronze with 82.831 points. Another Chinese gymnast, Shi Cong, finished fourth.
The men's all-around final marked the first day of finals at the 2025 world championships. Hashimoto and Zhang, who ranked first and third respectively in qualification, competed in the same group, starting from floor exercise before rotating through pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.
Unlike the qualification round that saw multiple mistakes, Wednesday's final was tightly contested, with nearly all top contenders performing smoothly. Japan's rising star Shinnosuke Oka opened strongly on rings to take an early lead, but Hashimoto overtook him after an excellent pommel horse routine.
Zhang impressed on rings with a high-difficulty routine and a solid landing, moving from seventh to second place, while Oka regained the lead after parallel bars. Shi performed steadily on pommel horse, rings and vault, climbing into the top four.
The turning point came in the fifth rotation when Oka fell on floor exercise and dropped out of medal contention. Hashimoto extended his advantage with another clean routine on parallel bars, while Zhang made a small mistake that left him about 0.4 points behind the Japanese leader. Shi continued to perform consistently on horizontal bar, staying close behind in third place.
In the final rotation, Russian neutral athlete Daniel Marinov fell on horizontal bar, adding tension to the close battle. Zhang, performing next, made a slight error but recovered quickly to complete his routine. Hashimoto, competing last, delivered a composed and precise horizontal bar performance, finishing with a perfectly stuck landing that sealed his victory.
"I think the key was to stay focused on myself," Hashimoto said afterward. "I've dealt with injuries along the way, but I've learned how to manage them. Winning three consecutive world titles is not easy, and I will keep working hard toward more."
Zhang said the new Olympic cycle had just begun and that he was still refining his routines. "The six routines are all relatively new for me, and I haven't competed them many times at major events," he said. "I believe with more time and training, my control and consistency will improve."
The men's all-around competition adopted a new format this year, changing from four groups of six athletes to six groups of four. It was the first major international event to test the faster-paced rotation, though most gymnasts said the change had little impact on their performances.
