Shinnosuke Oka Triumphs on Horizontal Bar for 3rd Gymnastics Gold in Paris

Shinnosuke Oka added to his gymnastics medal haul at the Paris Olympics on Monday, August 5. He won the men's horizontal bar final after collecting bronze in the parallel bars event earlier in the day.

What's more, Oka doubled his medal haul in the French capital.

He also helped Japan grab the gold in the men's team final on July 29. And the 20-year-old became the men's all-around Olympic champion on July 31.

Furthermore, the Okayama native became the first Japanese Olympian to earn four medals at the Paris Games. In addition, he's the first Japanese gymnast to win three gold medals at the same Olympics since Sawao Kato at the 1972 Munich Games.

"My favorite one is of course the gold medal in the team final, because that's what we've been working so hard for. It's a collective result," Oka was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

"After the team final, the pressure was off my shoulders. I was just able to perform with less pressure" he commented.

In winning the horizontal bar competition, Oka secured the gold on a tiebreaker over Colombia's Angel Barajas after both men received 14.533 points for their routines at Bercy Arena.

Oka's execution score was 8.633 and Barajas had a 7.933.

There was a tie for third place and both Olympians received bronze medals with 13.966 points due to the fact they also had the same execution score (7.466). The bronze medalists: China's Boheng Zhang and Taiwan's Chia Hung Tang. Japan's Takaaki Sugino was seventh (11.633) among the eight participants. 

'I Was Able to Do My Best'

For Oka, an anxious mood filled his mind as the event transpired. Oka was the second of eight entrants to compete.

"I really didn't know what was going to happen until the very end," he was quoted as saying by NHK. "But I was able to do my best without making any mistakes, which led to the gold."

Oka also received 14.533 points for his routine in qualifying for the horizontal bar final.

He overcame a knee injury in 2022 to reach the top at the Paris Olympics.

"After getting injured, I prepared as well as I could and that led to where I am," he said, according to Kyodo News.

Looking ahead, Oka is motivated to pursue more Olympic medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"I want to get stronger, and like [retired legend] Kohei Uchimura, I want to be an athlete who can always keep on winning," he said, according to NHK.

A Gymnastics Memory to Savor

After becoming Colombia's first-ever Olympic medal in gymnastics, Barajas was thrilled to collect the bronze.

"I know I did a good job and wrote history for Colombia by doing so," Barajas said, according to Agence France-Presse. "To be a 17-year-old in the Olympics is a crazy experience, but it is more important to just enjoy it out there."

It was an error-strewn event with several competitors falling off the horizontal bar, including in qualifying, and also doing so after Oka's routine was done.

In a gravity-defying display of strength and precise timing to twist and turn and maintain balance, Oka showed once again that he's a gymnastics force to be reckoned with.

An Action-Packed Day of Gymnastics Activity

On a busy Monday for Oka in the French capital, the parallel bars competition got underway at 11:45 AM. Thirty-eight minutes later the results were official.

And just after 1:30 PM, the horizontal bar final started, and at 2:25 PM Oka was declared the winner.

In the parallel bars final, China's Jingyuan Zou had the top score (16.200 points) to claim the gold. It was Zou's third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event.

"I am so grateful for Paris providing the stage for us to show our gymnastics," Zou told reporters. "Most of us come here with injuries and it's not easy to perform in such conditions. But the crowd cheering us on and showing their enthusiasm has made things a lot different."

Ukraine's Illia Kovtun, who finished fourth in the men's all-around and floor exercise finals, earned the silver (15.500). He made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Oka secured the bronze with 15.300 points.

Of the three medalists, Kovtun received the highest score for the difficulty component (7.00 points). He got 8.500 for execution.

In winning the gold, Zou registered 6.900 points (difficulty) and 9.300 (execution).

Oka had component scores of 6.500 (difficulty) and 8.800 (execution). The 20-year-old was the eighth and final gymnast to perform his routine.

Therefore, Oka knew what score he needed to become a medalist.

Mission accomplished.

Oka is the first Japanese man to earn a medal in the Olympic men's parallel bar event since Hiroyuki Tomita finished second at the 2004 Athens Games. 

Also for Japan, Wataru Tanigawa placed sixth with 14.133 points in the eight-man final.

"I was aiming for a medal, so it was frustrating not to get one," Tanigawa said, according to NHK. 

Andrade Wins Women's Floor Exercise

In the women's floor exercise final, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade triumphed with 14.166 points. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, both competing for the United States, finished second and third, respectively, with 14.133 and 13.766 points.

Japanese teenager Rina Kishi received 13.166 points. The 16-year-old, an Olympic debutante, also placed 11th in the women's all-around in Paris.

RELATED:

• Shinnosuke Oka Claims Gold in the Men's All-Around Gymnastics Final
• Daiki Hashimoto Powers Japan to Gold in the Men's Gymnastics Team Final
• EDITORIAL | Olympics Controversies No Reason to Defame Athletes, Judges

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.