Arstistic Gymnastic Competition at Buenos Aires 2018

Summer Youth Olympics 

2018 

Arstistic Gymnastic Competition at  Buenos Aires 

2018

Japan Gold Medal Win in Arstistic Gymnastic

BUENOS AIRES - The final of the men’s all-around artistic gymnastics event, where the winner is determined by the sum of scores obtained in six apparatuses, featured 16 young athletes competing for a medal.

Brazil's Diogo Soares became the surprise of the night when he scored a total of 80.295 points and claimed the bronze, ascending the podium along with the gold medallist from Japan Takeru Kitazono and the silver medallist from Russia Sergei Naidin.

Soares was the only South American athlete in the all-around event, which includes all the apparatuses used in men's artistic gymnastics.

"It's an enormous joy, I can’t find a way to describe it. I think the word ‘happiness’ is even too weak for this feeling I have. It's something different from anything else," said the gymnast while holding his #Pandi doll in one hand and his medal in the other.

The podium result was a shock not only to the spectators, but to the athlete himself.

"My goal was to be among the top eight," Soares said. "I got very nervous when I saw that I had chances to be on the podium. I still don't realise what I’ve achieved. I think I’m just starting to absorb that I am a Youth Olympic medallist."

His bronze is Brazil’s fifth medal in a gymnastics discipline. Until now, the South American country had one gold, two silvers and another bronze, all in recent times – the first one being at Beijing 2008. To top it off, Soares achievement was Brazil's first ever medal in an all-around competition.

"I knew that if I won I would be the first, but that doesn’t make me more special than the other athletes. They are all an honour for my country," Soares said.

Japan’s Kitazono won the gold with a total of 82.298 points, while Russia’s Naidin took the silver with 80.498 points.

The European gymnast said that he wasn’t satisfied with his performance and will go in search of gold in the apparatus finals where the competitions are held in one apparatus at a time.

Meanwhile, the Japanese gold medallist said that his dream had always been to win the all-around event, but added that he is preparing to win more medals in the coming days.