OLYMPICS /
Team China
China's Yang Wei crowned in men's all-around
Xinhua
Updated: 2008-08-14 15:47
China's all-conquering gymnast Yang Wei won the men's all-around title with a convincing 94.575 points here Thursday at the Beijing Olympics.
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Yang Wei of China reacts after his last routine on the horizontal bar during the men's individual all-around artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. [Agencies]
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Yang, a three-time Olympian with two world championships all-around golds under his belt, stormed to his first Olympic all-around victory by beating runner-up Kohei Uchimura by 2.60 points. Caranobe Benoit of France settled for bronze.
It's also China's second gymnastics men's all-around title after Li Xiaoshuang's at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
Surviving his nearly-failed last apparatus of horizontal bar, his weakest of all six apparatus which produced his lowest 14.775 points in Thursday's final, a jubilant Yang celebrated even before his final score was accumulated, waving the Chinese national flag to the cheering home fans.
Yang, well-known for his awesome preciseness of movements, started with a comparatively plain start on floor exercise when he stepped outside the marked area and ended with a below-average 15.250 points.
He pushed two notches up from 10th to 8th after pommel horse routine. On rings, the 28-year-old launched a strong surge, amid deafening cheers and applause from home fans for his unbelievable straightness.
Rings produced 16.625 points and took Yang up to second place only after Yang Tae-young of South Korea. Vault sent him further to top when he scored 16.550, and a 16.100 points on parallel bars further expanded his lead.
