Horizontal Bar, Men

The format was the same as it had been from 1984-2000, with eight gymnasts advancing from the team all-around, but no more than two per nation. Russia’s Aleksey Nemov was the defending champion and made the final. He performed what appeared to be a difficult routine with flawless execution except for a small step on landing, but was given a score of 9.725, causing the crowd to erupt in a noisy protest. After a consultation the judges adjusted the score to 9.762, which did little to placate the crowd. American Paul Hamm was up next and similarly performed well except for a small step on landing, earning a score of 9.812, which only further angered the crowd. Italian Igor Cassina, who had been the 2003 World bronze medalist, then did his routine, matching Hamm’s score, but winning the gold medal on a tie-breaker. Japan’s Isao Yoneda and Hamm’s twin brother, Morgan, tied for third with 9.787, with Yoneda winning the bronze medal, also by tie-breaker. Because of ties in qualifying, this event unusually had 10 finalists.