Classy Uchimura wins all-around gymnastics gold

Japan`s put in a classy all-around performance to take gold in the men`s gymnastics at the London Olympics here Wednesday.

London: Japan`s Kohei Uchimura put in a classy all-around performance to take gold in the men`s gymnastics at the London Olympics here Wednesday.

Uchimara put in five near-flawless routines, and despite a four-point landing on the floor, the Beijing silver medallist held on to win with 92.690 points. "I`ve been aiming for this for a long time and now I have achieved it," Uchimara said. "It`s a dream." "I have been world champion in the all-around three times in a row, but this is an different feeling. The Olympics are only once in four years so I have been waiting for this moment." Marcel Nguyen of Germany scored 91.03 for an unlikely silver on the final rotation when Uchimara`s teammate Kazuhito Tanaka fell off the pommel horse. "It`s amazing, it`s a dream come true. I had an difficult start. I started on pommel horse and that`s my weakest event, but it went better from apparatus to apparatus," Nguyen said. America`s Daniel Leyva took the bronze after a strong final routine on the high bar, scoring 90.698. British favourite Kristian Thomas`s challenge slipped on the vault, when he stumbled on landing a double pike to score 14.9. A mid-16s score that he was expected to achieve would have placed him in medal contention. As it was he finished seventh, on 89.406 IANS