Team, Men

The format was the same as in 2004. There was a qualifying round, with only the top eight teams advancing to the final round. In the qualifying round each team was allowed six competitors, with five to compete on each apparatus, and the best four of five scores counting for each apparatus. Qualifying scores did not carry over to the final round. In the final, each team had six gymnasts, with three allowed to compete on each apparatus, all three scores counting, which was termed the 6/3/3 rule. China had won the 2006-07 World Championships, and crushed their competition in Beijing, winning the 2008 gold medal by a 7+ point margin over Japan. In the final, Japan led after the first rotation, the floor exercise, but that was it as China passed them. The US was briefly ahead of China on the third rotation, but struggled on the floor exercise and pommelled horse to drop back to bronze. Japan had been second at the 2007 Worlds and third in 2006, and won the silver medal fairly easily over the United States.