PARIS: A new star was born on Wednesday, after Shinnosuke Oka of Japan clinched gold in the men’s all-around gymnastics event at the Paris Summer Olympics, his first-ever Games.

After confirming that he was the new Olympic champion, the 20-year-old celebrated with Daiki Hashimoto, who was also part of the Japan squad that clinched the men’s team gold just two days before, and his coaches.

“I’m glad that I overcame my injuries,” a jubilant Oka said.

Oka’s main rivals in the all-around final were Hashimoto and Chinese gymnasts Zhang Boheng and Xiao Ruoteng, all of whom have stood atop an Olympic or world championship podium, or both, in the past. Hashimoto, in particular, went into the Paris Olympics as the gold medalist at the previous Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 and the 2022 and 2023 world champion.

Oka’s rivals, however, made uncharacteristic errors during the final, with Zhang fumbling the landing of his floor routine and Hashimoto coming off the pommel horse.

Despite the audience’s audible bewilderment, only Oka seemed unfazed, going about his business and accumulating masterfully executed routines.

After coming out on top following the pommel horse element of the final, Oka dropped to third place after his vault performance fell a little short in terms of difficulty.

In the following parallel bars, an area where Oka shines, he put on a magnificent display of his skills, securing an impressive score of 15.100 to climb up to first place.

Before his final horizontal bar routine, Oka said, he told himself to be composed but not to shrink away from the occasion.

Following his own advice, Oka showed off release and regrasp moves, including a dynamic Kolman, and managed to keep his landing tidy, with the crowd reacting with rapturous applause.

But he still had to wait for the result of the final performer, Zhang.

The Chinese gymnast was more than capable of leapfrogging Oka to clinch Olympic glory, but he failed to fully demonstrate his skills, meaning that the Japanese newcomer was crowned the Paris Olympic all-around champion with a margin of 0.233 point separating him from the second-placed Zhang.

Isao Yoneda, who leads Tokushukai Gymnastics Club to which Oka belongs, has described the 2019 junior world all-around champion as “a Japanese treasure.”

After a setback from a serious injury to his right knee in 2022, Oka’s talent was in full bloom at the Paris Olympics, where he played a major part in the Japanese team winning gold in the men’s team event.

“I finally won,” Oka said. “I always aspired to win against (Hashimoto), so I think I was able to achieve one goal of mine.”

Hashimoto, who was going through his fair share of injuries since the Tokyo Olympics and finished sixth in Wednesday’s final, was magnanimous in defeat. “I’m so happy to see a new landscape right in front of my eyes,” the 22-year-old said on Oka’s Olympic victory.

The Japan team “now has two (Olympic) all-round champions,” Hashimoto said. “I hope that we all work together, not just the two of us, to make Japan an even stronger team.”

Oka’s victory meant that Japan has secured gold for the men’s all-around event at all four Olympics since the 2012 London Games.

Despite this feat, Oka said, “I don’t think I was able to put on a performance I was satisfied with.” Already setting his eyes toward the future, Oka said, “I must never forget the spirit of challenging myself.”

“I’d like to work hard so as to continue winning like Kohei (Uchimura),” a Japanese gymnastics legend, Oka said.

JIJI Press