Chinese gymnast Yang Wei responding to the cheers and chants from the crowd, after clinching the gold in the men's all-round gymnastics competition yesterday. -- PHOTOS: ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIJING: More than a dozen times during the men's all-around gymnastics final yesterday, China's Yang Wei exhaled so hard that his cheeks puffed out, big and round.
With the completion of each of the six events, he inched closer to that elusive gold.
"He's kicked me to the top of the podium."
YANG WEI, on how his coach Huang Yubin pushed him to greater heights
In 2000, he was second.
Four years ago in Athens, he fell off the horizontal bar and plummeted from first to seventh, going from almost-champion to earning a reputation as a choker.
This year, there will be no more letdowns. Not with the crowd chanting 'Yang Wei, Yang Wei, Yang Wei'.
The 28-year-old's gold-medal total was 94.575. Japan's 19-year-old Kohei Uchimura took the silver, 2.6 points behind.
After the gold was placed around his neck, Yang revealed he was wracked with self-doubt after the last Games.
In Athens, he was a disconsolate soul walking through the mixed zone, where media members shouted out questions at the losers.
When he wanted to retire, his coach Huang Yubin refused to let him.
'I thought I was in very good shape back then and, if I couldn't win gold then, I thought I could never get a gold,' Yang said. 'But Huang kept pushing me. Sometimes, I resisted. But he pushed hard. Now he's kicked me to the top of the podium.'
Now that he has been crowned the best male gymnast, Yang hinted he may finally retire.
He could still add to his tally in Beijing. though. On Sunday, he competes in the pommel horse and rings finals.
Yesterday, he started off slowly. After a 15.250 on the floor and a 15.275 on the pommel horse, he was eighth. He closed the gap with a 16.625 on the rings, climbing to second. Then he finally shot to the top with his vault, scoring a strong 16.550.
He bit his lip to hold back a grin after his parallel bars routine got him a 16.1.
The prize arrived, fittingly enough, on the horizontal bar. He would score a solid but unspectacular 14.775.
But, before it flashed, he was already blowing kisses and applauding the fans.
