Yang wins gold in Men's All-Around

(BEIJING, August 14) -- China's Yang Wei proved that he is the world's best all-round gymnast today by winning the gold medal in the Men's All-Around.

Yang entered the final rotation with a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. The lead was a tremendous advantage for Yang, who knew he did not need to excel on his weakest apparatus, the Horizontal Bar.

Yang performed well in the Rings, the Vault and the Parallel Bars. His 16.625 in the Rings was only bettered by his compatriot Chen Yibing, who pulled out of his last rotation and finished last.

Yang finished with a total of 94.575 points, which was a long way ahead of silver medalist Uchimura Kohei of Japan who scored a total of 91.975. Uchimura will rue his mistake-ridden performance in the Pommel Horse, where he finished with 13.275 - the worst score of any competitor.

The bronze medal was won by French dark horse Benoit Caranobe, who scored a total of 91.925 points. Caranobe was the ninth-highest-ranking gymnast in the qualification phase, but an outstanding performance in the Vault secured the bronze medal. Caranobe was the top-ranking gymnast on the apparatus, scoring 16.600.

Germany's Fabian Hambuechen, who was seen as the only real rival to Yang, performed poorly today. Hambuechen was clearly upset after a bad performance in the Vault. He finished seventh with a total of 91.675.

Japan's Tomita Hiroyuki would have been a chance to win a medal if he had not fallen from the Rings. Due to the fall, Tomita could only manage a score of 13.850 on the apparatus. He was the best-performed gymnast in the Horizontal Bar and finished with a total score of 91.750.