This is the tenth post in our new series “Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions”. Over the coming months we will be looking back at former Olympic Champions and also a chance to see how our sport has developed over the years. Every Friday in the lead up to the Olympics in July, Full Twist will post a new article in this series. We will continue this series with the Men’s Floor Champions of Olympics past. Where possible we have included results,scores and pictures or videos where available.
1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games
- Istvan Pelle (HUN)
- Georges Miesz (SUI)
- Mario Lertora (ITA)
1936 Berlin Olympic Games
- Georges Miesz (SUI)
- Josef Walter (SUI)
- Konrad Frey (GER) & Eugene Mack (SUI)
1948 London Olympic Games
- Ferenc Pataki (HUN)
- Janos Mogyorossy – Klencs (HUN)
- Zdenek Ruzicka (TCH)
1952 Helsinki Olympic Games
- Karl Thoresson (SWE) 19.250
- Jerzy Jokiel (POL) & Tadeo Uesako (JPN) 19.150
1956 Melbourne Olympic Games
- Valentin Mouratov (URS) 19.200
- Nobuyuki Aihara (JPN), Viktor Chukarin (URS), Karl Thoresson (SWE) 19.100
1960 Rome Olympic Games
- Nobuyuki Aihara (JPN) 19.450
- Yuri Titov (URS) 19.325
- Franco Menichelli (ITA) 19.275
1964 Tokyo Olympic Games
- Franco Menichelli (ITA) 19.450
- Yukio Endo (JPN) 19.350
- Viktor Lisitsky (URS) 19.350
1972 Munich Olympic Games
- Nikolai Andrianov (URS) 19.175
- Akinori Nakayama (JPN) 19.125
- Shigeru Kasamatsu (JPN) 19.025
1976 Montreal Olympic Games
- Nikolai Andrianov (URS) 19.450
- Vladimir Marchenko (URS) 19.425
- Peter Kormann (USA) 19.300
1980 Moscow Olympic Games
- Roland Bruckner (RDA) 19.750
- Nikolai Andrianov (URS) 19.725
- Alexandr Dityatin (URS) 19.700
1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games
- Li Ning (CHN) (10.00) 19.925
- Lou Tun (CHN) (9.850) 19.775
- Sotomura Koji (JPN) (9.850), Vatuone Philippe (FRA) (9.850) 19.700
1988 Seoul Olympic Games
- Sergei Kharikov (URS) 9.975
- Vladimir Artemov (URS) 9.950
- Lou Yun (CHN) 9.900
1992 Barcelona Olympic Games
- Li Xiaoshuang (CHN) 9.925
- Misutin Grigori (EUN) & Iketani Yukio (JPN) 9.787
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
- Ioannis Melissandis (GRE) 9.850
- Li Xiaoshuang (CHN) 9.837
- Alexi Nemov (RUS) 9.800
2000 Sydney Olympic Games
- Igors Vihrovs (LAT) 9.812
- Alexi Nemov (RUS) 9.800
- Jordan Jovtchev (BUL) 9.787
2004 Athens Olympic Games
- Kyle Shewfelt (CAN) & Marian Dragulescu (ROM) 9.787
- Jordan Jovtchev (BUL) 9.775
2008 Beijing Olympic Games
- Zou Kai (CHN) 16.050
- Gervasio Deferr (ESP) 15.775
- Anton Golotsutskov (RUS) 15.725
There are a lot of extremely strong male floor work for this Olympics. At each big competition so far in the lead up to London – Worlds, Test Event, Visa Championships and Test Event we have seen some massive routines and sheer talent. Russia’s Denis Ablayzin currently rocks a massive 7.1 start value on Floor with the likes of Alexander Shaitlov close behind with 6.7 and Eleftherios Kosmidis with 6.6. USA’s Steven Legendre is also doing big routines at the moment, at Worlds he had a 6.8 start value which was upped to 6.9 for the VISA Championships last weekend. There are many other names in contention for a place on the floor podium such as Kohei Uchimura, Diego Hypolito, Zou Kai and Flavius Koczi. 2008 bronze medalist Anton Golosutskov is currently in hospital receiving treatment for back pain and may not be in contention for an Olympic spot.
It’s really hard to tell with such fierce talent coming into the games. Who do you think will medal on floor in London? Leave a comment below.
Also in this series:
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – MAG Parallel Bars
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – MAG AA
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – WAG AA
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – MAG Pommel Horse
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – WAG Vault
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – MAG Still Rings
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – MAG High Bar
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – WAG Beam
- Gymnastics History: Olympic Champions – WAG Uneven Bars
