Japan’s reigning Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Daiki Hashimoto had been on an emotional roller-coaster for months.
Back in May, injury had forced him to suddenly pull out of the NHK Trophy – the sport’s marquee tournament in Japan – that he hoped would be his chance to dress-rehearse his routines ahead of the Paris Games.
Still nursing a far-from-healed finger injury, he joined other Olympic-bound athletes at the team’s training camp even though he wondered whether he would be able to lead the five-man team to the gold medal that his nation expected.
“To be honest, I was starting to lose confidence,” Hashimoto told reporters on Monday. “When the camp ended, I still couldn’t visualise how I was going to win that gold.”
That sense of doubt seemed to have disappeared two days ago when Hashimoto stepped into the Bercy Arena in Paris, beaming and waving to the adoring fans.
But the confidence was short-lived.
On the high bar, Hashimoto botched his dismount by landing on his hands and feet, dashing his chance of reaching the final to defend the title in the apparatus.
