Flawless Hashimoto snags fourth consecutive World All-Around title

Cool, composed, and above all consistent, Hashimoto Daiki (JPN) claimed his fourth straight World Championships All-Around title Thursday in Rotterdam, further distinguishing himself as one of the all-time greats in Men’s Gymnastics.

A zoned-in Hashimoto overcame the challenge posed by surprise silver medallist Yang Haonan (CHN), while British veteran Joe Fraser put together six clean routines at his sixth World Championships for bronze, his first World All-Around medal.

Hashimoto retained the crown he has worn since 2022, coolly withstanding the pressures levied by challengers representing 16 different nations. Though a few seemed poised to finish above him at different points, the 25-year-old’s consistency carried the day.

He began modestly enough with 13.666 points on Floor Exercise, but dazzled on Pommel Horse for 14.500 to move into the top three. In characteristic Hashimoto style, he pulled away in the final two rotations: 14.700 on Parallel Bars gave him the lead for the first time, and he administered a knockout punch on High Bar with a competition-high 14.766. His winning total was 85.998 points. 

“I did get nervous, just a little bit,” admitted Hashimoto, who fell missed a release skill on High Bar in qualification, adding more than a note of suspense to his final routine. “Knowing that anything can happen on High Bar, I made sure not to let my guard down and kept my focus sharp. I just wanted to perform well and finish the competition on a high note.” 

 

Hashimoto vs. the world

Hashimoto’s steadiness was thrown into sharp relief by errors from his closest rivals. Qualification leader Oka Shinnosuke (JPN) took himself out of contention when his vault went awry in the fourth rotation. 2025 World Junior champion Arsenii Dukhno (WG2) seemed like a lock for the podium until he came unglued on High Bar in the sixth. A fall on Pommel Horse meant European champion Illia Kovtun (CRO) was never really in the running.

His nearest challenger turned out to be Yang, a senior World Championships debutant who seemed to come of age as the competition went on. Though he lacked the star power of Hashimoto on High Bar, Yang did so much elsewhere that by the end of the night the 23-year-old had announced himself as the rising star of Chinese Men’s Gymnastics, a potential successor to 2021 World champion Zhang Boheng.

“I’ve mainly been focusing on getting some good rest over the past few days, trying to reach my best state for today’s competition,” said Yang, who ended with 84.199, 1.79 behind Hashimoto. “I’m quite satisfied with the final result — really happy, in fact. I gave it my all today.”

 

Fraser, a father-to-be from the British Midlands, made the most of his do-over after mistakes on Floor Exercise and High Bar in Tuesday’s team final. The 27-year-old is the third British man after Daniel Keatings and Max Whitlock to win an All-Around medal at the World Championships, and the first to get a bronze. The 27-year-old punctuated strong performances with a gesture indicating giving a baby its bottle, a signal he had worked out with his pregnant partner Tia, who was watching on at home.

“My girlfriend said to me before I started, ‘you should try to do a celebration like you’re having a baby bottle.’ So I said to myself, all right, if I get a chance, after I’ve done a decent routine I’ll do a baby bottle. And I thought a few of them were half decent so I did it a few times, just in case it didn’t get seen,” Fraser laughed. 

“To deliver my routines the way I did and to walk away with this bronze medal, it kind of makes everything worth it,” he added.

 

Daniel Marinov (WG2), Angel Barajas (COL), and Jake Jarman (GBR), who finished fourth, fifth, and six, were all occasionally spectacular but held back by lack of difficulty on one apparatus. Dukhno finished seventh, Oka eighth, Kovtun 11th. Barajas’s result is the best ever for a Colombian gymnast, beating his own rceord of 6th place last year.

Hashimoto’s place in history

Hashimoto is only the second man to win four World All-Around titles in Men’s Gymnastics, joining the legendary Uchimura Kohei, who won six straight between 2009 and 2015. 

In Rotterdam working for Japanese television, Uchimura was on hand to congratulate Hashimoto in person. In the mixed zone, a space designated for journalists to interview gymnasts, Hashimoto and Uchimura briefly posed side by side, using their hands to indicate the number of titles they had won. 

Together they account for 10 of the last 14 World titles awarded in Men’s Gymnastics.