Nikita Nagornyy of Russia competes on the horizontal bar during the men's all-around final of the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
Nikita Nagornyy and Artur Dalaloyan had a one-two finish for Russia in the men's all-around final at the World Championships. 2017 world champion Xiao Ruoteng of China missed out on the podium after a fall in his final rotation.
STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 European champion Nikita Nagornyy clinched the men's all-round gold at the 2019 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships here on Friday.
The 22-year-old Russian (88.772) outpaced defending champion and fellow countryman Artur Dalaloyan (87.165), while Ukraine's Olympic parallel bars champion Oleg Verniaiev emerged as a surprise third-placer to round off the podium with 86.973.
Chinese front runner Xiao Ruoteng, the 2017 champion, narrowly missed out on a medal at 86.690 after a fall in his final rotation on the horizontal bar. His compatriot Sun Wei crossed the line as fifth with 86.523.
Chinese gymnast Xiao Ruoteng competes on the vault during the men's all-around final of the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
The 2018 silver medallist Xiao was closely behind Nagornyy, but in the final rotation, he caught a release move on the high bar too close and had to hop off the bar.
"I showed quite a high standard in my first five rotations. Going to the high-bar, I wanted to close the gap of 0.5 points," the Chinese told Xinhua.
"I'd decided beforehand that if I were trailing, I would enhance the difficulty to challenge the leader."
Xiao, who had to settle for a silver in 2018, revealed that he wasn't willing to end up as runner-up again, so he decided to take a risk by adding flying moves.
Chinese gymnast Xiao Ruoteng competes on the rings during the men's all-around final of the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
The Chinese vowed to increase his efforts in rings training. "I had injuries on my shoulder, and I still have the potential to improve on the rings. I was much better on pommel horse, but the lead was erased after the rings."
Asked which of his opponents is closest to his level, Xiao said: "To be honest, I'm the closest to Nagornyy in terms of level. My other rivals are also strong, but not as good as him. His execution is great, he's very stable."
Gold medalist Nikita Nagornyy of Russia (C), silver medalist Artur Dalaloyan of Russia (L) and bronze medalist Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine pose for photos after the men's all-around final of the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)
Nagornyy has been the best performer in 2019 and now underlined his leading position in Stuttgart. He also helped Russia secure the gold in the team final.
"Tired," the 22-year-old Nagornyy said. "I felt emotionally spent after the team final, and so the all-round final was not as cheerful. Overall, though, I liked the crowd and how everything went." ■
