The first medals of the competition will be bestowed today as we discover which is the very best group of boys.

Japan qualified in a comfortable first place, the US qualified in 2nd with their best chance to win a world team medal in a good long while, sitting just ahead of the defending bronze medalist British, while defending champions China scraped into the final in 8th place and have now subbed in Lin Chaopan for Shi Cong in the quest to say, “OK but now we’re trying, you buttheads.”

Because of qualifying in last, China now starts on vault, so if they’re going to turn this around, they’ll very much need to be in first after the first rotation. Japan, USA, and GB all went 43.1 on these first-rotation events in qualification, so that’s the marker to watch for them.

Allgymnastics is advertising that famous team-final competitor Rhys McClenaghan

Intros are happening now. Also this is happening now.

The US men did a little performance and everything. They’re basically the Dutch women. I think GB has someone on their team named “Corny Torque” based on the announcer.

I have the US broadcast on Peacock and a VPN-Australia going for the Olly-Blythe (Blolly?) World Feed. Will see what we see.

Rotation 1

Chiba opens for Japan on floor, and it’s not awesome. Struggled on his front double full to layout, deep landing, and his back 2.5 to a fake-o-save-it-front 1/2. 12.933 is a rouggggh opening score.

And now James Hall has fallen on pommel horse. Is it going to be that kind of day?

I’m listening to Blolly but also have the background sound on the NBC feed and could hear Daggett exclaim DEVASTATING, so everything sounds as per usual.

Moldauer – FX – good randi, stuck front 2/1 to front full, double arabian 1/2, stuck – 2/1, stuck – back 2.5 to front lay, little hop – 3/1, little bounce back. One of his good landing days overall.

Hall has an 11.933 which has to count.

Clay opens Canada’s competition with a good horse hit. 14.200 Langenegger Y2.5 with a hop to the side for Switzerland.

14.366 for Moldauer. We’re not seeing Hashimoto’s floor but he goes 14.300

GB is also going to have to deal with a 13.233 from Jarman on horse.

China goes 43.299 on vault with real hits from Sun and Su. 43.299 is an improvement of 1.333 on qualification.

Richard – FX – USA – 2.5 double tuck, solid – front 2/1 to front full, good – double double tuck, little rebound – 2/1, stuck – back 2.5 to front lay, little hop – FTDT, step back. Good. 14.366

Whitlock saves the day as much as is possible for GB on horse in the first rotation, but it’s going to be just 40.432 for the team horse total.

Minami on floor also did what he could do to save the score, only minor hops, finishing with a stuck 2/1, though even so he only got 14.333 which puts Japan on 41.566.

Meanwhile Canada’s great start took a hit with a fall from Cournoyer on horse. Everyone showed up to team final and said no thank you.

It’s 11.033 for Cournoyer. Japan put in an inquiry for Minami’s score and he got an extra tenth back, so Japan is on 41.666 now.

Hong – FX – USA – front full to front double pike, double double lay, small movement – front tuck full to double front, arm wave – back 2.5 to front lay, lands OOB, I think both feet a little – 3/1 dismount, rebound back and to the side – great start, opened the door at the end

We still don’t have a score for that routine. Finally came in on 13.966, which is not what they really wanted but usable .

China the only team to improve on qualification after all.

Rotation 2

Moldauer had a good one going on horse until the dismount, with a pause and an arch and a form break and a crazy, which I anticipate will be destroyed.

13.533 for Moldauer, which is not devastating. An improvement on the Hong score that counted in Q.

Sun Wei with a near stick on his double front 1/2 out, small lean. 14.733.

Macchiati with a clean Kas 1.5 on vault, hop to the side.

Kaya goes 14.200 for his opening horse hit, which will start to bring Japan back from that low floor start.

Very nice horse hit from Richard in the second spot for the US. Emard, continuing to look like fun-size Andrew Rannells, on rings for Canada dips on a handstand – double double dismount, hop back. 13.800

The scores have been super sluggish to update today.

Just 12.500 for Richard on horse for the US, continuing to emphasize that I do not know horse.

We have a double double layout rings dismount from Tulloch, a little chest forward with a step.

You up for China on PB, excellent salto work, only issue was a bit of a short landing on double front 1/2 dismount, hop forward.

14.966 for You

We get to look back on our Nicola on vault, beautiful Kas 1.5, little hop forward

Fall for Chiba on horse for Japan for 13.066. Here we go, men’s gymnastics.

China goes 44.365 on Pbars, an additional improvement of another point on qualification.

And the US has a fall from Khoi Young on horse now for what is going to be a dramatically low total on horse. 13.600 for Young. 39.633 horse for the US, compared to 42.366 in qualification.

Brendel on vault for Germany, double front, lunge back

Hashimoto is lovely on horse for 14.266 to say, we’re falling all over the place, and we’re still better than all y’all.

China still the only team improving on qualification. The US and Great Britain and to a slightly lesser extent Japan way way down.

Rotation 3

A 15.400 for Jake Jarman on vault will seriously help Great Britain.

The world feed is obsessed with Switzerland and Germany. Lovely stick on a double double lay HB dismount from Baumann for 13.866.

Dolci with a pretty Kas 1.5, tried to hold the stick with an arm wave, ended up with a hop forward

Hepworth also gets 14.866 on vault, a big improvement on qualification. We see him in the background of the feed with a small hop back.

Juda finds the landing on his DLO 1/1 on rings, large pike. Now we get to see Jarman, his Kas 2.5 is very nice, good twisting position, just a little under with a small hop back.

Sun Wei gets 14.200 on high bar as China continues to say LOLLLLL to everyone.

GB also got a vault hit from Tulloch for GB to come back from their bad rotation in qualification. 44.599is an improvement of more than 2.5 points.

Sugimoto hits his rings dismount for 13.700 for Japan, which is not a big score but about what Japan is expecting for rings.

Checking back in on Hepworth’s vault, his randi is very nice, medium hop to the side.

Moldauer with a bounce back on rings, 13.866, slightly under qualification for him as well as Juda.

Su Weide – HB – tak full, late – tak 1/2 is nice – Liukin is hit – layout tkatchev and a fall – The first qualificationy moment we’ve seen from China. Resumes with a Kolman and he peels off on that as well – now a double fall counting for China. Also a big elbow struggle on german giant and a step back on double double layout.

11.166 for Su.

Japan 41.299 on rings with an inquiry pending, compared to 41.666 in qualification. Macchiati with a nice stick on a double front on PB.

Hong hits rings, hop back on double double layout, gets 14.000 which is about on track with qualification.

Emard struggles with the landing control on his Kas 1.5, large lunge to the side and off the mat.

Japan gets the inquiry on rings to go up to 41.499 there compared to the US on 41.466.

Huge error for Levantesi on a long swing diam, loses his body position, has to try to grab the other rail, falls – and now almost the same thing on another diam, saves it but another big form error. 12.366

Just a Lin Chaopan high bar score to come to wrap up rotation 3. He saves China’s rotation for a 39.499, but that’s down on qualification, which China couldn’t really afford to be on any event.

Rotation 4

Sun Wei comes up a little short on a double double tuck but otherwise goes through a successful floor routine. 14.033

Young hits his handspring randi on vault, but does have a couple hops to the side – 14.666. Kaya’s first vault for Japan is in with a 14.633, kas 2/1, landed with some stagger, hop back

Juda vaults a 14.400 for his Yurchenko double pike, also down on qualification.

Whitlock on PB – good tippelt, high front straddle, double pike, step back. 13.800

Hashimoto vaults a 14.900.

Lin – FX – China – front double full to double front, hops right into corner – double front pike, bounce forward – randi, hop to the side – 2/1, hop back – back 2.5 to front 1/1, good stick – longggg breath before last pass, but survives his 3/1 with a step back. 13.800

The US gets 15.100 for Hong’s vault, which is an improvement they needed. Minami goes 15.000

Hall holds his double front dismount landing on PB with an arm swing, just a couple leg separations and one handstand arch. 14.466

We see Hashimoto’s vault, amazing distance on his Kas 2/1, little hop back.

Also checking back in on Hong’s Ri Se Gwang, which is one of his best editions, medium step back.

Su – FX – back 2.5 to double front, excellent stick – back 3.5, good, little hop – double double tuck, nailed – back 1.5 to front 1.5 was weird, a little off line, lands it but chest down with a hop – front full to frotn 2/1, another stick – 3/1, little step. Will be huge number.

Jarman on PB now, had one short position on his stutz, dismounted double front 1/2, step back. 14.166 down on qualification.

Looking back on Minami’s fantastic vault, Kas 2/1 with a stick and a little arm wave.

Su Weide 14.100 on floor as China moves back to gaining more than a point per apparatus.

Finishing the rotation with Seifert’s floor – front full to double front, good, little hop – double front pike is an issue with a large lunge forward though. Finishes 13.600.

Rotation 5

Japan has moved to first after vaulting, but just a hair ahead of GB and China now. Whitlock opens high bar for Great Britain, good stick on double double layout.  13.400

Kaya with a very successful opening PBars for Japan, stuck his double front 1/2 out. 14.733

You Hao is subbed into horse for China today and goes 13.400, more improvement for them.

We didn’t see Canada on high bar but Emard has just a 10.266 there.

Richard on PBars with a good bhavsar and tippelt, has to walk on his diam, step forward – really short handstand – double front, hop forward. 14.033 compared to 14.600 from qualification.

Hall – HB – Cassina, hit – Kolman, very nice – and then falls on his tkatchev. British, why are you being so British right now. Does stick his double double layout. 12.433

Sun Wei hits horse today for 14.266.

Hashimoto’s double front 1/2 out on PBars is so much better than everyone else, the height and the form, and he stuck. 14.866

Jarman – HB – layout tkatchev, hit – tkatchev – tak – front stalder – tak 1/2, late – stalder – DLO 2/1, step back. Just 13.200 there.

Sugimoto with another big result for Japan, 14.833,  swims the first leg of a triathlon on his double front 1/2 dismount but held onto it.

US also has to deal with a 14.200 from Hong on PBars, which is well below what they wanted.

Lin Chaopan goes 13.200 on horse, which is solid for a lower D routine, keeping China in good position for silver as Japan pulls away on PBars.

Moldauer finishes PBars for the US, the one who brought the routine in this rotation for 14.933.

Rotation 6

China has the most reliable score here, but Japan really just has to vaguely stay on high bar to win now.

The US moves into 2nd place but also has to high bar here, compared to GB’s much better scores on floor – Khoi Young hits a layout tkatchev and tkatchev today – double double layout, hop. So that’s a step up.

12.833 for Young. 15.000 for Liu Yang.

Kaya – HB – Kolman is close but through it – layout tkatchev, hit – tkatchev, good – tak 1/1 is nice comparatively – double double layout, stuck. One hit down. 14.000, loses a point to China, but they have 3.7 to work with.

13.966 opening on floor for James Hall. GB gains 1.133 of the 2.967 they need to with that hit.

Sun Wei hits rings, a little raggedy, and two steps on dismount. 13.966 is still fine though.

Juda – HB – USA – yamawaki, some pike – kovacs, hit – layout tkatchev – tkatchev to piked tkatchev – tak – tak 1/2, good vertical position – DLO 1/1, holds the landing with an arm swing. Good. 13.933.

Hepworth FX – triple double with a step back OOB – front full to double front pike and falls, sigh – front 2/1 to double front is great – back 1.5 to front lay, nice – double double tuck, small movement – 3/1, step back, another OOB.

Just a 12.800 there, which will mean that Richard can fall and the US would still be ahead. The same has become true for Hashimoto keeping Japan ahead of China in the last high bar routine. He doesn’t really even have to hit. 

14.866 for You Hao on rings, nice. I still think this counts as one of the all-time great China trolling affairs with that qualification performance, and I just love it.

Richard – HB – USA – cassina, good – kolman, hit – layout tkatchev, solid – tkatchev – tkatchev piked, hit – tak 1/1 goes totally crazy, lots of leg breaks and a late catch – DLO 2/1, stuck landing.

Jarman – FX – double double lay, lovely, hop to the side – triple double, a little forward – double double, slide back – 2/1, holds the stick – randi is stuck – front lay to front 2/1, good – this routine is still going – 3.5, little hop. Great finish.

14.533 for Richard.

The US will finish 1.366 behind 2nd place China, so they’ll know it could have been silver with something closer to a hit.

Hashimoto – HB – he needs a mid 12 here – hits cassina – hits kolman – layout tkatchev, good – tkatchev – tak 1/1 is crazy late – doubel doubel layout, stuck to win.

Big 14.533 for Jarman, but they’ll end up on 249.461, three points behind the US.

14.366 for Hashimoto gives Japan the title by nearly 2 points.

Every team except China dropped at least two points compared to qualification.

Japan wins, as expected, though not an awesome day overall. China comes back from nearly not making the team final to bring in Lin Chaopan and remember how to hit to take silver. Though China will also secretly or not so secretly announce that if either Zhang or Zou had been here, it’s a different result.

The US ends a long drought with a bronze here. The performance isn’t going in the Smithsonian, and GB definitely opened the door wide for them, but the US has had that door opened many times before and was not able to walk through it. This time they did. They had the pommel horse meltdown, but GB had the pommel horse meltdown and then additional falls on high bar and floor, which ended up being the difference.