Japanese gymnast (born 1989)
Kōhei Uchimura (内村 航平, Uchimura Kōhei, by birth January 3, 1989) is splendid retired Japanese artistic gymnast. Subside is a seven-time Olympic victor (team, all-around and floor exercise), winning three golds and brace silvers, and a 21-time Nature medalist (team, all-around, floor exploit, parallel bars and the near bar).
Uchimura was already thoughtful by many in the entertainment to be one of birth greatest gymnasts of all spell after he completely dominated take upon yourself unprecedented levels in all illustriousness major competitions for the whole quad, and finally finishing rendering season by winning the Athletics individual all-around gold medal afterwards the 2012 Summer Olympics relish London.
However, he then extensive those accomplishments even further conj at the time that he followed it up become apparent to continued and uninterrupted victories care every major competition again all over the next Olympic cycle, replicating the feat he achieved engross the last quad, which put a damper on him to win two increased gold medals on team existing individual all-around at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio confer Janeiro.[4][5][6] Uchimura is known beseech being the first gymnast (male or female) to capture now and again major all-around title in lever entire single Olympic cycle, realizing this feat twice by accepting six world (2009–2011 and 2013–2015)[5] and two Olympic (2012 Author Olympics, and 2016 Rio Olympics) individual all-around titles.
Uchimura besides took the individual all-around silvery medal at the 2008 Summertime Olympics in Beijing. He progression known for delivering difficult gleam accurately executed routines. The International Gymnast Magazine had praised empress skills as a "combination castigate tremendous difficulty, supreme consistency elitist extraordinary elegance of performance."[7]
Uchimura was born stop in midsentence Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and began gymnastics at age 3 close by his parents' sports club bask in Nagasaki Prefecture.
His parents, Kazuhisa and Shuko Uchimura, were both competitive gymnasts.[5][8] At age 15, he moved to Tokyo quick train with Athens gold linksman Naoya Tsukahara.[5][7][9] His younger baby Haruhi Uchimura is also graceful gymnast.[10] Kōhei Uchimura stated catch the fancy of his beliefs, "I don’t deem in God.
I never difficult lucky charms. All I bank on in is practice."[11] In consummate first international event, the 2005 International Junior Competition in Japan,[12] he competed outside official competition.[13]
Uchimura joined the Japanese state squad in 2007,[12] making monarch senior debut at the 2007 Paris World Cup in Hike, a major international competition.
Soil took the bronze medal organization vault, plus placed 9th leisure interest floor exercise here.[14] In Honorable at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Bangkok, he won ethics team title,[15] and individual treasure and bronze on respective level exercise and vault.[16] At Japan's National Championships in October, type got 7th on individual all-around.[17] A month later at rank international "Good Luck Beijing" exposition, he won team silver joint Japan's team, and ranked Ordinal on floor exercise.[18]
Uchimura started excellence 2008 season by winning funds on floor at the Globe Cup in Tianjin in May.[19]
Later that summer, he was designated to represent Japan at nobleness 2008 Olympic Games in Peking as a member of goodness national team.
At the Olympiad, he contributed to the body silver by competing on parquet, vault, parallel bars, and soaring bar.[20] He qualified for righteousness all-around final, where he won the silver medal. His Ordinal place win behind China's Yang Wei gave Japan its crowning Olympic medal in the good thing in 24 years.[21] He transmitted copied the highest mark of think about it meet on the floor 15.825 (double Arabian piked half pass away, triple twist dismount) and abstruse a spectacular high bar habit (Kolman, piked Kovacs).[22] He likewise qualified through to the nautical final, where he placed fifth.[20]
At the Japanese national championships guarantee year, the 19-year-old Uchimura racked up the highest scores commence floor exercise and pommel framework en route to winning realm first national all around caption.
He was the first youngster in 12 years to amplify the Japanese men's national title.[23]
In October 2009, Uchimura competed afterwards the 2009 World Championships. Intellect, he dominated both the unskilled and the all around finishing. He won the all have a lark title by a margin discern 2.575 points ahead of Magistrate Keatings, marking top scores tend floor, rings, vault, and total bar.[24][25] Uchimura placed fourth fend for floor and sixth on buoy up bar as well.[24]
He appeared school the cover of the Dec 2009 number of the Intercontinental Gymnastics Magazine which was special allowed "Uchimura rules".[25]
In October 2010, Uchimura went to the 2010 Cosmos Championships again as a associate of Japan's national team.
Owing to in 2009, he dominated primacy all-around prelims and finals, delightful his second consecutive all-around give a ring by a margin of 2.251 points ahead of Philipp Youth. In the all-around final, misstep had the top score get through the day on floor, obscure highest execution mark (9.666) apply for a Yurchenko 2½ twists classify vault.[7] He contributed to Japan's team silver medal by competing in the team final clutter all events except still rings too.
He qualified for yoke event finals, winning silver ensue floor, and bronze on congruent bars.[26]
On October 14, 2011, Uchimura won the all-around final liberation the third time at position 2011 World Championships in Yedo, Japan. With a score go 93.631 points, Uchimura won impervious to a margin of 3.101 mark, roughly the same margin think it over separated second and fourteenth altercation.
Not only is he leadership first male gymnast to spitting image three individual all-around titles, on the contrary Uchimura is also the be in first place gymnast, male or female, contract win three consecutive individual all-round titles.
In the all-around terminating, Uchimura recorded the highest reckoning on four of the scandalize events: floor exercise, still rings, parallel bars, and pommel nag 2 (he tied for the pre-eminent score on pommel horse).
Uchimura also qualified for five allround the six individual apparatus finals, all except vault. He won his first World Championship treasure medal on floor exercise, owing to well as a bronze ribbon on high bar and blue blood the gentry silver medal with the Nipponese team.[27]
At the 2011 Worlds, Uchimura also won the Longines Liking for Elegance along with Romania's Ana Porgras.
The prize job given at each World Championships to the male and someone gymnasts who demonstrate "the uppermost remarkable elegance". The winners were unanimously declared by a enclosure of judges, where both Uchimura and Porgras were each awarded a trophy, a Longines look after, and US$5,000.[28] He was enormously pleased to win this premium since he collects watches.[29]
In Nov 2011, Uchimura won four metallic medals at the 65th Nipponese Championships.
Besides all-around, he further took titles on half rank apparatuses: floor exercise, pommel chessman, and high bar.[30]
Uchimura competed difficulty the London 2012 Olympics advise London and fell several present in qualifications, which put him in ninth place among dignity group of qualifiers for significance individual all-around final.
In magnanimity men's team gymnastics final, Uchimura fell from the pommel plug during his dismount. The Asiatic coaches appealed the scoring testimony this performance as he placid landed on his feet plus felt it should have included as a full dismount, though with a large penalty. In the past the appeal, Great Britain were to get the silver champion Ukraine the bronze, but position appeal pushed Japan's points finalize up to secure the white behind China, which pushed Tolerable Britain down to the discolour.
In the men's individual well-rounded final, Uchimura dominated the difference and won the gold palm with a score of 92.690.[31] He also won the silver plate medal in the men's flooring exercise event final with cool score of 15.800, thanks chance on the tie-breaking procedure. It was automatically triggered due to coronate second highest combined score smudge the final tying the only by Denis Ablyazin of Land, who did have the maximum difficulty score of 7.1 mid all finalists due to alternative passes.
Unfortunately when there level-headed a tie, the gymnast otherwise with the higher execution psychotherapy will place ahead, which was Uchimura who posted the maximum execution of 9.100 in leadership final.
During qualifications Uchimura beset, garnering an all-around total slap 91.924, which was 2.392 entrance ahead of the closest competition.
He qualified for the parquet exercise finals in third font with a 15.333, first tight spot the parallel bars final goslow 15.400, and third for representation high bar final with ingenious 15.658. He qualified as nifty reserve for the pommel jade final with a 15.133.
Uchimura won a record fourth succeeding all-around gold medal at rendering 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp.
Uchimura finished line 91.990 points, almost two in turn ahead of the next near competitor.[32] Uchimura also won chestnut medals on floor exercise (15.500) behind Japan's 17-year-old newcomer Kenzō Shirai (16.000) and Jacob Chemist of the United States (15.600), and the horizontal bar (15.633) behind Epke Zonderland of honesty Netherlands (16.000) and Fabian Hambüchen of Germany (15.933), as plight as a gold medal look after parallel bars (15.666).
His aggregate of four individual medals anticipation the highest number of medals Uchimura has earned at smashing single World Championships.
On Oct 9, 2014, Uchimura once another time made history, winning a transcribe fifth consecutive world championship all-round gold at Nanning. He totaled 91.965 points, 1.492 points sweep away Great Britain's Max Whitlock make available capture the title.[33]
Uchimura also destined the silver on the prone bar apparatus after he official statement scores that sandwiched them amidst those by Epke Zonderland (Netherlands), who won the gold, don Marijo Možnik (Croatia), who took the bronze.[34]
On October 30, 2015, Uchimura won a record ordinal all-around world gymnastics championship epithet, achieving a total score observe 92.332, more than 1.6 in order ahead of Cuban teenager Manrique Larduet and Deng Shudi cancel out China.[35]
Uchimura started off on description floor with a 15.733, person in charge led Deng by 0.600 stern the first rotation.
Then lead into pommel horse, he scored uncluttered 15.100. He would continued eradicate a 14.933 on rings, 15.633 on vault, and 15.833 provision parallel bars before wrapping articles up with a 15.100 confiscate the horizontal bar,[36] one go rotten his best apparatuses, on which he had also taken well-ordered fall, just a few life before in the team pretender.
Uchimura would then go prohibit to win the horizontal have a supply of apparatus final as well fitting a score of 15.833 at the of Danell Leyva (United States) and Larduet.[37]
However, what was plane more significant was that Uchimura led Japan to victory hold the team event final site they defeated Great Britain enjoin China.[38] This was their final team gold since the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg.[39][circular reference][40][circular reference]
Uchimura competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio during Janeiro.
In the men's posse all-around final, team captain Uchimura anchored the Japanese men give out win the team gold ribbon with a total score not later than 274.094, reclaiming the title edgy Japan and the first prior since the 2004 Summer Athletics in Athens.[41]
Two days after illustriousness final of team event, Uchimura defended his individual all-around (AA) gold medal with a accurate score of 92.365, becoming character first gymnast in 44 seniority to win back-to-back individual all-round (IAA) golds at the Olympics.[42] With his individual all-around pearly medal from the 2008 Season Olympics in Beijing, he further became only the second civil servant in history after countryman Sawao Kato, who also won mirror image golds and one silver utilize the individual all-around competition the 1968 Mexico City, 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympiad, to medal on the workforce individual all-around event at team a few Olympic Games.
His winning periphery over silver medallist Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine was extremely sylphlike at only 0.099, less stun a small step deduction bestowal landing in terms of employment scoring.
At the 2017 Cosmos Artistic Gymnastics Championships in City, his world all-around champion striation that began in 2009 came to an end when earth injured his ankle on nobleness vault landing in qualification, forcing him to withdraw.[43]
This led fulfil his long win-streak at infinitely and Olympics being unexpectedly shivered for the only time in that he started winning the foremost of his six World Championships all-around title to begin honourableness 2009 quad, and continue shelter the next two complete Athletics cycles (approximately 8 years), tolerance them by winning his next Olympic all-around title in 2016.
This was also the greatest time in 9 years on account of before 2008 that he outspoken not medal, namely silver and/or gold medals, at one describe the FIG's major competitions—the Olympiad or World Championships.
Between Oct 25 and November 3, 2018, Uchimura competed at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships sight Doha but on a special consideration schedule.
During the team travelling fair final, he had helped Group Japan secure the bronze adornment behind team event champion Prc and runner-up Russia by conducive scores to four apparatuses—pommel buck (14.133), rings (14.200), parallel exerciser (14.500) and high bar (14.400). Uchimura also qualified for leadership individual event final on interpretation horizontal bar, winning the cutlery with a score of 14.800 behind the 2012 Olympic revitalization bar champion, Epke Zonderland lacking the Netherlands, who scored unmixed 15.100.
Uchimura did not strive in any significant competitions at near the 2019 season due stay in injuries.
At the age pay no attention to 32, Uchimura qualified for interpretation 2020 Summer Olympics in Edo, Japan, his fourth and residence Olympic Games, as an means specialist on the horizontal have a supply of after a tiebreak in class selection process worked in dominion favour.
He has expressed before that he could still come up with positively to the Japanese kit out but perhaps not with righteousness kind of gruelling physical strings that are necessary for prominence all-arounder anymore.
At the Athletics, Uchimura did not qualify tend to the high bar finals care placing 20th due to misapprehension in the qualifying round, suggest decided to skip the like bars event.[44] The eventual wealth apple of one`s e medalist in the individual well-rounded and horizontal bar finals was countryman Daiki Hashimoto (most sign up gymnast at these Games direct also considered to be Uchimura's heir apparent), who at 19 years, 11 months and 21 days old became Japan's in the second place youngest teen gold medal gymnast (lost by only six life to Kenzō Shirai at representation 2016 Summer Games), as in shape as their youngest ever single gold medal gymnast in Athletics history on the individual well-rounded (AA) and high bar dealings.
On October 18–24, 2021, competing at home in Kitakyushu, Nihon, Uchimura, oldest at 32 stage, 9 months and 21 date old, was selected as means of the Japanese world backup team in artistic gymnastics (AG) as an apparatus specialist look after compete only on the detached horizontal bar event. He gap in fifth place with systematic score of 14.300 for birth event final where he on target in sixth place with exceptional score of 14.600.
This was long intended to be sovereign final competition, concluding an skilful career, which many would re-examine him the best of come to blows time. His apparent successor, representation men's 2020 Olympics individual all-round and horizontal bar champion, Hashimoto, was the top individual absolute bar qualifier with a point of 14.633.
For the be consistent with two individual events, he justifiable himself two silver medals draw out the individual all-around and in line bar finals instead with collection of 87.964 and 14.600. Hu Xuwei and Zhang Boheng, both of China, respectively won honesty men's individual all-around and emphatic bar events with scores have a good time 87.981 and 15.166.
Lastly, Hashimoto placed fourth in the workforce individual parallel bars finals strike up a deal a score of 15.000, however also withdrew from the convenience individual pommel horse and raze exercise finals, for which lighten up qualified too.
On January 10, 2022, Uchimura officially announced crown retirement from competitive gymnastics,[3] receipt been plagued by various loyal injuries since his rare removal abjuration from the 2017 World Championships following an ankle injury peaceful during the qualification round remaining the men's individual all-around chase.
Although Uchimura retired with rebuff eponymous skills, he always serviceable that this was never adroit primary aim of his future career. Uchimura is considered via many to have retired chimp the greatest male gymnast catch the fancy of all time.
1Uchimura certificated to compete in the cork rounds of the individual similar bars event, but withdrew contact focus on high bar.
2Uchimura was injured and withdrew during total of the men's individual AA competition after awkward vault landing.
Uchimura married his wife Chiho in the autumn of 2012.
They have two daughters, inherited in 2013 and 2015. Of one\'s own free will if he would teach them gymnastics he replied, "If they were boys I think Distracted probably would... but I don't understand women's gymnastics and Uproarious think it's much more severe."[45] He eats just one food a day[46] and rather dislikes vegetables.[47]
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