PARIS — Japan's reigning Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Daiki Hashimoto had been on an emotional roller-coaster for months. Back in May, injury had forced him to suddenly pull out of the NHK Trophy — the sport's marquee tournament in Japan — that he hoped would be his chance to dress-rehearse his routines ahead of the Paris Games.
Paris 2024 Olympics - Artistic Gymnastics - Men's Team Victory Ceremony - Bercy Arena, Paris, France - July 29, 2024. Gold medallist Daiki Hashimoto of Japan poses for a picture as he celebrates with his medal.PARIS — Japan's reigning Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Daiki Hashimoto had been on an emotional roller-coaster for months.
Still nursing a far-from-healed finger injury, he joined other Olympic-bound athletes at the team's training camp even though he wondered whether he would be able to lead the five-man team to the gold medal that his nation expected. That sense of doubt seemed to have disappeared two days ago when Hashimoto stepped into the Bercy Arena in Paris, beaming and waving to the adoring fans.On the high bar, Hashimoto botched his dismount by landing on his hands and feet, dashing his chance of reaching the final to defend the title in the apparatus.Japan had been hoping to top the qualifying standings to underline their title credentials but they had to settle for second place behind China.
"Every time I opened the doors to the training grounds, all of them would talk about how they wanted to win the gold medal. Seeing that, I really felt from the bottom of my heart that I wanted to fight for this team."In an error that drew a collective gasp from the arena, Hashimoto fell off the pommel horse, setting Japan back against a formidable Chinese side. In fact Hashimoto's lowly score of 13.100 left his country trailing in fifth place at the halfway point of the final.
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