OLYMPICS/ Tears at dinner motivated men’s gymnastics team to rally for gold

By KAI UCHIDA/ Staff Writer

July 31,至難 2024 at 15:26 JST

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Daiki Hashimoto, center left, celebrates with his teammates at Bercy Arena after Japan won gold in the men's gymnastics team event at the Paris Olympics on July 29. (Takuya Tanabe)

PARIS--On the night before the men's team gymnastics final, Japanese athletes and staff formed a circle after dinner at the Olympic Village here.

Each team member expressed his innermost thoughts.

“I don’t want to finish second again,” team captain Kazuma Kaya said.

His voice was shaking as he recalled their narrow miss for a consecutive team gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when they finished second to Russian Olympic Committee. 

This sparked tears among the team.

Daiki Hashimoto struggled to speak through his emotions.

“It was really tough,” he said.

On July 29, there would be no more tears but elation.

The Japanese gymnasts helped each other overcome early mistakes and erased what seemed like an impossible gap. They overtook China on the final apparatus to claim gold in the men’s team event at the Paris Olympics.

Making it possible was Hashimoto, who became the youngest gymnast to win the individual all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Games at the age of 19.

He assumed the role of ace for Japan following the retirement of “King” Kohei Uchimura, a two-time all-around Olympic champion.

In May, however, Hashimoto injured the middle finger on his right hand, which hindered his training. He entered the Paris Olympics before fully regaining his competitive stamina and sharpness. 

In the qualifying round on July 27, Hashimoto's unsteady landing on the horizontal bar, one of his strongest events, hampered the team’s performance.

After the qualifying round, he stood apart from the other four members, unable to forgive himself for not performing as he had expected over the past few months.

When head coach Hiroaki Sato heard Hashimoto’s tearful voice, he felt he was hearing his true feelings for the first time.

“(Hashimoto) couldn’t show his vulnerability because of his role as the ace,” Sato said. “I’m sorry for making him bear that burden.”

In the finals, Hashimoto fell during Japan’s second discipline, the pommel horse, allowing China to widen its lead.

“It might have cost us the gold again,” he thought. His face was frozen in dismay.

As he prepared for his next discipline, other team members encouraged him. Takaaki Sugino told him, “Come on, let’s just do it.”

Looking around, he saw Kazuma Kaya repeating, “Never give up.”

Wataru Tanigawa pumped his fists in triumph every time he finished his routine to motivate the team.

Shinnosuke Oka, the youngest member at 20, who had recovered from a serious injury sustained two years ago, was steadily racking up points for the team with his resilient performances.

“Why are they so strong?” Hashimoto thought. That gave him strength.

When it came to Japan’s final discipline, the horizontal bar, Japan trailed China by more than three points. Normally, that deficit in the team gymnastics competition would have been too great to overcome.

But Sugino gave the Japanese team a glimmer of hope.

Hashimoto’s tears the night before had touched Sugino deeply. He pulled off a series of complex release moves, which changed the team’s momentum.

Then came the unbelievable moment. A Chinese athlete fell twice on the horizontal bar.

Hashimoto was the last member of the Japanese team to take the stage in the event.

Seeking encouragement from his teammates, he said, “Please give me a pat on the back.”

He received pats on the back from each team member and staff member, as if drawing strength from them.

His condition was not perfect, so Hashimoto did not attempt one of the complex maneuvers.

However, he gave the best performance he could and nailed the landing that he had missed in the qualifying round. As he finished, he saw the audience standing in appreciation.

Looking to the side, he saw his teammates smiling.

“Thanks to all of you, I was able to rally. Thank you,” Hashimoto said.

The five team members hugged each other in joy and celebration.