Tokyo Olympics 2020: 5 favorites to win gymnastics gold medal
The Tokyo Olympics 2020 is less than a month away and it is generating a lot of interest and anticipations are at an all-time high. The Summer Games were postponed by twelve months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will now commence on 23 July and end on 8 August. Some of the biggest names in the sporting world will travel to Tokyo, Japan, in hopes of winning
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Gymnastics has always been one of the most anticipated events at the Games and it will be no different at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. We look at the top five names in gymnastics taking part in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
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Top Gymnastic medal prospects at Tokyo Olympics 2020
Simone Biles of the US: She dominated the Rio Olympics in 2016. At the recent US Olympic trials, Simone Biles confirmed her Tokyo Olympics 2020 spot by registering a total of 118.098 from two days. At Tokyo Olympics 2020, Biles will aim to become the first female gymnast in more than 50 years to win all-around gold medals at consecutive Summer Games.
Biles is one of the most decorated gymnasts ever, and all eyes will be on the reigning World Champion at Tokyo Olympics 2020. She has a combined 30 Olympics and World Championships medals under her name — winning four gold medals and one bronze at the Summer Games in 2016.
Biles had earlier said that she might retire after the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but according to reports, she is considering participating in Paris Olympics 2024.
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Liu Tingting of China: This will be China’s Liu Tingting’s first Summer Games. The 20-year-old gymnast won the silver medal in balance beam at the 2019 World Championships. She went on to win all-around titles in China in consecutive years. Liu will be leading her country against the strong line-ups of US and Russia at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Liu missed out on the 2016 Summer Games in Rio due to a fractured hand, where China won bronze in the team event.
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Nikita Nagornyy of Russia: The reigning world champion, Nikita Nagornyy of Russia, is the favorite to win the all-around title at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Nagornyy won the silver medal in the team event at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. Under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Nagornyy will be looking to win the gold in the team event for the first time since 1996.
The 24-year-old is traveling to Japan for his second Olympics in prime form — he won the all-around title at the European championships, following which an element was named after him.
Kohei Uchimura of Japan: Playing in front of his home crowd, Kohei Uchimura has qualified for his fourth Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics will be his last Summer Games. Called “King Kohei”, Uchimura has won all eight Olympic and world all-around titles from 2009 to 2016. At the 2014 Rio Olympics, Uchimura became the first male gymnast in 44 years to win back-to-back Olympic all-around titles.
Uchimura will not compete in the team event at the Tokyo Olympics. Although he can go for the individual all-around, he said his focus has been on the high bar after injuries have disrupted his rhythm in recent years. He had to miss the world championships in 2019 - for the first time since 2007 - due to injury.
Tokyo Olympics: Age is just a number for Oksana
Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan: She turned 46 on 19 June and will be participating in her eighth Olympic Games. Oksana has represented the Soviet Union, the Unified Team and The Commonwealth of Independent States as well as Germany and now Uzbekistan.
But it is her longevity that stands out in comparison to other athletes in gymnastics, where we often see many talented gymnasts retire.
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Oksana won the gold medal as part of the team event at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Recently, Oksana won the gold in the women’s vault final at the 13th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha.