Olympic gymnastics: Shinnosuke Oka wins gold but Joe Fraser & Jake Jarman miss podium
British gymnasts Joe Fraser and Jake Jarman came close to winning a medal in the exciting men's all-around final, but ultimately fell short as Japan's Shinnosuke Oka took home the Olympic gold.
China's Zhang Boheng and Xiao Ruoteng won second and third place after the defending champion Daiki Hashimoto from Japan fell early on the pommel horse.
Fraser came in fifth place and Jarman finished in seventh place following the fourth place finishes for Great Britain in both the men's and women's team competitions earlier this week.
Fraser, who had multiple surgeries in the past few years, wasn't sure if he'd ever have a chance to compete in the Olympics again. However, he performed well and stood out in his routines on the parallel bars and high bar. He finished with a total score of 85.532, just 0.832 points away from winning the bronze medal.
"I am extremely proud to have finished in fifth place at the Olympic Games," Fraser said. In the final in Tokyo, he finished in ninth place but he was happy with his performance. "My main goal today was to enjoy myself."
"After the team final, I was so let down that I decided to go for broke and just give it my all."
Jarman achieved the highest score of the day with a vault score of 15.166. Similar to Fraser, he also raised the level of difficulty in his routines from the qualification round and successfully executed each one to earn a total score of 84.565.
The United Kingdom has only achieved one medal in this competition, which was Max Whitlock's bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Jarman, who is 22 years old, is in a great position to win a medal all by himself in Paris. He has qualified as the best gymnast for the floor final on Saturday and is also the current world champion on the vault, setting him up nicely for the final on Sunday.
"Having a game tonight will be really beneficial for my upcoming individual finals," he explained. "Being able to play again without waiting for a whole week will help me maintain my momentum, and I'm excited to get back out there."
Additionally, Team GB has several more chances to win a medal in gymnastics. On Saturday, Whitlock will be competing in the pommel horse final, Harry Hepworth in the rings and vault final, Luke Whitehouse in the floor final, and Becky Downie in the uneven bars final.
The final was full of action, as Zhang, who was the top contender, had a rough start in his floor routine. Then, Hashimoto, the Tokyo champion, made a mistake on the pommel horse, giving other competitors a chance to take the lead.
It gave Oka the opportunity to take advantage and secure the title of the top male gymnast in the world, which was won by a Japanese athlete for the fourth consecutive Olympics. This is Japan's second gold medal in gymnastics at the Games, following their win in the men's team final.
A tense moment occurred during the performance of Canadian gymnast Felix Dolci when his handguards broke in half while he was on the high bar. The audience gasped as they watched him fall to the floor, with the bar ringing loudly in the background. However, Felix quickly got back on his feet and was given the opportunity to redo his routine. He wore a new pair of handguards, which were visibly stained with blood by the end of his performance.