Japan defeats China in men’s gymnastics team final to win gold

PARIS >> Daiki Hashimoto turned grief into unimaginable joy as he recovered from a fall from horseback to lead Japan to the gold medal, beating China in the thrilling men’s gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics.

While Hashimoto led Japan to their eighth team title at the Games, the United States celebrated their first Olympic team medal since 2008 when they took bronze.

Just when it looked like China had already clinched the title, with a lead of more than three points over Japan and only three performances left on their final apparatus, the high bar, Su Weide fell twice during his routine, turning the title fight into a tight contest.

When the lines stabilized, Japan emerged victorious with a total of 259,594 points, less than a point ahead of China.

The American men delivered a fantastic performance and took bronze, after perfectly executing most of the landings in the competition.