Horizontal Bar, Men

The format was the same as it had been from 1984-2004, with eight gymnasts advancing from the team all-around, but no more than two per nation. The leader after qualifying was the favorite, German Fabian Hambüchen, 2007 World Champion and three-time European Champion. He scored 15.875 in the final but was beaten by both China’s Zou Kai, who won gold, and surprising American Jonathan Horton. Zou won three golds in Beijing, adding a team title and gold on floor.

One athlete not competing was Slovenia’s Aljaž Pegan, a high bar specialist, with an element named after him, the Pegan, that is performed on both high and parallel bars. He had won medals at the last three World Championships on horizontal bar, with silvers in 2006-07 and gold in 2005. Pegan’s nation did not qualify for the team event, and as a specialist, he did not qualify for the all-around, and did not win the most recent Worlds, so he could not compete in Beijing.