Max Whitlock of Great Britain earned a gold medal in the men’s gymnastics pommel horse event on Sunday. Louis Smith, also of Great Britain, earned the silver medal while American Alex Naddour earned the bronze.
Olympic gymnastic results 2016: Max Whitlock wins gold medal in men’s pommel horse, USA takes bronze
Whitlock took gold, Smith took silver and American Alex Naddour managed bronze in the pommel horse on Sunday.
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Naddour went third on the pommel horse and he put up an incredible routine with a 15.700, earning him first place. But Smith, one of the favorites, passed him up with a 15.833. His compatriot, Whitlock, then took over first place with a 15.966. Naddour then had to hold off Nikolai Kuksenkov to earn a bronze. The Russian put up a 15.233, which made him sixth, giving Naddour the bronze.
The pommel horse has been an issue for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team for many years, with the last U.S. men winning a medal in the event being Peter Vidmar and Tim Daggett in 1984. But Naddour is a four-time national champion on the pommel horse and qualified in seventh to earn his spot in the finals.
Whitlock, Smith and Harytyun Merdyinyan were the defending medalists from the 2015 world championships and were among the favorites going into Sunday’s event.
For Naddour, the pommel horse was the only individual event he qualified for the finals for. His Team USA compatriots (Sam Mikulak, Danell Leyva and Jake Dalton) also qualified in individual competition. Mikulak and Dalton competed in the floor exercise earlier on Sunday.
Unfortunately, Mikulak finished in last and Dalton in sixth, with Whitlock taking the gold. Simone Biles competed for the women and took gold in the vault earlier on Sunday as well.
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