« I didn’t think I was going to participate in four Olympics.said Uchimura, who also won team gold with Japan at the Rio Games. It’s something I can’t even assimilate. It’s amazing, when you think about it objectively. »

Uchimura approached this last match tied on points with rival Hidenobu Yonekura. He first had an impressive performance on Saturday to advance to the final of the competition with 15,766 points. The next day was more difficult for Uchimura who finally took the lead, taking care to thank Yonekura for having him ” put a lot of pressure ».

Uchimura feels like a “fossil”

« If he had achieved a perfect performance here, it would have been difficult to do better at the Olympics.he said positively. Better to have made some mistakes, it gives more determination to train for the Games. »

Japan will have to do without one who is one of the greatest gymnasts in history (three Olympic titles and 10 world titles) to defend their gold medal in Rio in the team competition, in which Uchimura also reached the dead end. , having explained feeling like a ” fossil ».