Sun, August 17, 2008
BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese gymnast Xiao Qin won the men's pommel horse crown Sunday at the Beijing Olympics.
Xiao, reigning world champion who entered the final in first place, took the gold medal in 15.875 points.
Pilip Ude of Croatia took the silver in 15.725 points and Louis Smith of Britain won the bronze with the same score of 15.725 points under a tie-break rule.
With Xiao's victory, host China had reaped five gymanstic gold medals so far at the Beijing Olympics, the most golds it had won at an Olympic Games.
The previous record was set at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, when China claimed four gymnastics golds.
Xiao, a three-time world champion on pommel horse, performed powerful swings, circles and undercuts on a difficulty of 6.4 points.
Xiao's teammate Yang Wei, who pocketed the men's all-around gold medal, finished 4th in 15.45 points.
"I felt very relaxed today," said Xiao Qin after the match. "The men's team gold is more important to me. After we won it, I felt relaxed. "
"I was the last performer and when I finished my routine I know I should have a medal because I had stronger performance today," said Ude.
"For me, it's a dream coming true. I dedicated the medal to my family and all the people who cheered for me," he said.
