Tokyo, Japan, August 2, 2021: Liu Yang, the new "Lord of the Rings", won China's first gold medal in Artistic Gymnastics at Tokyo 2020 which was also the country’s 250th gold at the Summer Games, reports the International Gymnastics Federation.
It was a sweet moment for the 26-year-old Liu as it was also a redemption for missing out on making the podium in the Still Rings by 0.1 at Rio 2016.
Despite a lingering knee injury, the 2014 World Still Rings champion was able to deliver his nation’s first Artistic Gymnastics gold of the Games on Monday, August 2 – and its first since 2012 London – with 15.500 points.
“I have been doing gymnastics for more than 20 years, so I have a lot of emotions,” said Liu, who cried when the final standings showed him in first place.
Liu’s 9.0 execution score from the judges was the highest of the eight men in a tight final.
“I don’t know if I will have the chance to compete in the next Olympic Games, so I had to do my best in this one,” Liu added.
China had won a total of 224 gold medals at the Summer Games before the start of Tokyo 2020. At the end of competition on Monday, they had added another 29 gold medals taking the overall tally to 253 – Liu’s gold was the 250th, the FIG reported.
Liu’s 2016 Rio teammate You Hao surprised himself to earn silver. Aiming to deliver only a stable routine, You’s 15.300 edged 2016 Olympic champion Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece by another 0.1 margin.
Five-time world champion Petrounias’s bronze was the 1,000th Olympic medal awarded in Artistic Gymnastics in the history of the Games.
