2012 London Olympics

Feng Zhe Takes Parallel Bars Gold

Feng Zhe Takes Parallel Bars Gold

Jul 20, 2012 by Danny Sierra
Feng Zhe Takes Parallel Bars Gold

Feng Zhe Wins Gold!




China earned another gold medal in the parallel bars final, as Feng Zhe outclassed the field with his 7.0-difficulty routine, showing tight form and sticking his double pike dismount to score 15.966.  Winning by a comfortable .166, Feng Zhe left little doubt that he was the superior performer.

Germany's Marcel Nguyen won a second silver medal at these Olympics, throwing a rare full-twisting double back dismount to score 15.8.  Nguyen has shown incredible consistency in London, finishing second to Kohei Uchimura in the men's all around final.

Hamilton Sabot, the beneficiary of an unbroken tie for the eighth qualifying spot, earned bronze, besting his score from prelims with a clean set for 15.566.  Ecstatic to land on the podium, Sabot is the first French gymnast to medal in London.

Kazuhito Tanaka, who lost an all around medal due to mistakes in the final rotations, again finished off the podium, scoring 15.5 for fourth place.
 

Daniel Barron Corral (MEX), Emin Garibov (RUS) and Vasileios Tsolakidis (GRE) finished in a bunch, with Corral Barron showing clean lines in his routine (15.333), while Garibov and Tsolakidis tied for sixth with scores of 15.3.  

Yusuke Tanaka, brother of Kazuhito, bobbled a handstand and landed short on his dismount to score 15.1.  China's Zhang Chenglong went up first, appearing off from the start.  With a fall, Zhang fell to the bottom of the standings.  He will have another chance to medal in the high bar competition.


PARALLEL BARS FINAL:

1. Feng Zhe (CHN)- 15.966 (GOLD)

2. Marcel Nguyen (GER)- 15.8 (SILVER)

3. Hamilton Sabot (FRA)- 15.566 (BRONZE)

4. Kazuhito Tanaka (JPN)- 15.5

5. Daniel Corral Barron (MEX)- 15.333

6. Emin Garibov (RUS)- 15.3

6. Vasileios Tsolakidis (GRE)- 15.3

8. Yusuke Tanaka (JPN)- 15.1

9. Zhang Chenglong (CHN)- 13.808



2012 OLYMPIC PARALLEL BARS FINALISTS:

1. Yusuke Tanaka (JPN)- 15.866
2. Kazuhito Tanaka (JPN)- 15.725
3. Feng Zhe (CHN)- 15.633
4. Emin Garibov (RUS)- 15.6
5. Marcel Nguyen (GER)- 15.525
6. Vasileios Tsolakidis (GRE)- 15.466
7. Daniel Corral Barron (MEX)- 15.433
8. Zhang Chenglong (CHN)- 15.366

Reserves: Samuel Piasecky (SVK) and Danell Leyva (USA)


EVENT HISTORY

Past World Champions
2011 Danell Levya (USA)
2010 Feng Zhe  (CHN)
2009 Wang Guanyin   (CHN)
2007 Mitja Petkovsek (SLO)

Past Olympic Champions 
2008  Li Xiaopeng  (CHN)
2004 Valeriy Goncharov (UKR)
2000 Li Xiaopeng  (CHN)
1996 Rustam Sharipov (UKR)



EVENT PREVIEW


2012 Olympic Medal Contenders



Danell Leyva, USA
The defending World Champion has upped his difficulty in preparation for the Olympics.  Clean and extremely consistent, Leyva is one of few gymnasts to score a 16.0 this year.

Marcel Nguyen, Germany
Three-time European Champion Nguyen has the year's highest score on the event (16.1) and will wow fans with a unique dismount: a full-twisting double back.

Feng Zhe, China
The 2010 World Champion is still the finest parallel bars worker in China, no small feat considering the amazing depth of his countrymen.  With incredible difficulty (6.9 D-score!) and toepoint, Feng Zhe looks to strike gold in London.

Oleg Vernayev, Ukraine
The ultra-talented Vernayev boasts the highest D-score in the world (7.0) and recently took silver at the European Championships.

Phuoc Hung Pham, Vietnam
Vietnamese talent Phuoc Hung Pham hasn't competed in a major final since 2009, but has come on strong in 2012, scoring as high as 15.925.

Kazuhito Tanaka, Japan
Japan's parallel bars star has posted big numbers in 2012. An event finalist at the 2011 Worlds, Tanaka's high execution will make him a contender in London.




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