UCHIMURA COMPLETES HIS COLLECTION

The grand master of the All-around competition but also an excellent specialist, Kohei Uchimura had already accumulated many medals in his collection. Gold on Horizontal Bar, however, had always eluded him until now: After bronze in 2011 and 2013 and silver in 2014, Uchimura landed on the top step of the podium. Impeccable to the tips of his toes, “king” Kohei finished above American Danell Leyva and Cuba’s Manrique Larduet, one of the sensations of these World Championships.

IN THE NAME OF
THE FATHER

Rings specialist Eleftherios Petrounias had one mission at the World Championships: Win a medal to honor the memory of his father, who had recently passed away. In taking his first World title, the 2015 European Rings champion from Greece could not have delivered a more fitting memorial. Petrounias finished in front of China’s You Hao, the 2014 bronze medallist, while reigning champion Liu Yang was relegated to the third step on the podium.

BEAT THE INVENTOR

The game was simple: Beat Marian Dragulescu at his own vault, a front handspring followed by two front flips off the table and a half twist. Fourteen years after his first World title on Vault, the 35-year-old Romanian showed that he can still jump better than almost everyone. Only reigning World champion Ri Se Gwang (PRK) managed to outclass him, taking gold with his own namesake element. American Donnell Whittenburg, who competed vaults originated by both the 2015 World champion and silver medallist, completed the podium.

THE FIRST KING
OF BRITAIN

With Olympic medallists Max Whitlock and Louis Smith both in finals, Great Britain had a good opportunity to capture gold on Pommel Horse, especially as World and Olympic champion Krisztian Berki had failed to advance to the eight-man final. Both performed with class, but it was Whitlock who will go down in history as Britain’s first-ever men’s World champion in Gymnastics. Smith took silver, while Armenia’s Harutyun Merdinyan and Japan’s Kazuma Kaya shared bronze.

THE REBOUND OF
MR. TWIST

Two years after his first World gold, Kenzo Shirai spun into the final with his trump card, the quadruple twist, aiming to recapture the title that eluded him in 2014 by a few thousandths of a point. The Japanese gymnast, a master of all twisting elements, out-tumbled Great Britain’s Max Whitlock, who had dazzled on Floor in team finals. The only new face on the podium was Spain’s Rayderley Zapata Santana, who took the bronze.

CHINA SHOWS ITS STRENGTH

With You Hao taking gold and Deng Shudi bronze, China once again left its stamp on the Parallel Bars, the event where they have won six of the last 10 World titles. With the highest difficulty score, You dethroned 2014 champion Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine. After finishing fourth in the All-around for the second straight year, Verniaiev’s Worlds were nonetheless saved by the silver. Azerbaijan’s Oleg Stepko, meanwhile, earned his first World medal with a share of the bronze

BILES THE MOST GOLDEN

Who else but Simone Biles? Her extraordinary tumbling – including the pass named for her -- lifted the smiling Texan above her high-flying competition in the Floor final, a fitting ending to a women’s competition that she monopolised from start to finish. 2011 World Floor champion Kseniia Afanaseva (RUS) was the best of the rest, but her exercise still left her far behind the leader. American Maggie Nichols earned bronze, but the day clearly belonged to Biles: With her 10th World gold, she now owns more World titles than any female gymnast in history.

BILES THE UNSHAKABLE

In a Beam final in which half the field fell, a clean set from Simone Biles was all it took to keep her world title on the event, her difficulty lifting her a full point above Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands. Wevers, for her part, gave the Dutch women their first World medal since 2005, while Pauline Schaefer (GER) stayed on for bronze, Germany’s only individual medal in Glasgow.