King Kohei
In Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, he’s the man: Since winning his first World All-around title in London in 2009, Kohei Uchimura has added another golden chapter to his stellar career with every passing year. With five consecutive World titles and the Olympic gold in 2012, Uchimura holds the record for All-around victories at the World Championships. Though his brilliance has brought him five Olympic medals (one gold and four silver) and 16 World medals (seven gold and five silver among them), the 26-year-old from Japan strives for one thing only: perfection.
Imperial China
For more than two decades, one nation has almost singlehandedly dominated the Men’s team competition at the World Championships. Since Dortmund in 1994, the Chinese men have won 10 of 11 World team titles, in addition to three of the five Olympic titles up for grabs along the way. For the past eight years, the team competition has been a ferocious battle between China, which deploys a solid legion of event specialists, and Japan, led by its star Kohei Uchimura. The competition is so tight that of the 273 points earned by both teams last year in Nanning, the gold medal was decided by one tenth of a point!
A Dutchman in flight
In a sport filled with daredevils, Epke Zonderland (NED) does combinations on High Bar even the most envelope-pushing gymnasts only dream of. The 29-year-old’s ability to do consecutive flipping release skills — letting go of the bar, flipping and twisting over it, regrabbing it and letting go again immediately to do still more flips and twists — has catapulted him to Olympic gold, two World titles and immeasurable Youtube stardom. Video footage of his winning Horizontal Bar routine in London in 2012 has received more than 1.8 million views to date, and earned him the nickname “The Flying Dutchman.”
The incredible Japanese twisting sensation
An adolescent upstart with an aptitude for twisting like a top, Kenzo Shirai’s prodigious talent first led him to become the youngest man ever to make the Japanese National team, and in 2013, one of the youngest-ever World champions on Floor. Shirai has two signature skills on Floor — a triple twisting forward somersault and a quadruple twisting back somersault, which he performs at the end of his routine — as well as a triple-twisting Vault, all of which are named after him. This year he plans to unveil a new tumbling run, which he hopes will help him regain the World Floor title.
Man of the year
2015 has been a golden year for Oleg Verniaiev: Since last November, the determined Ukrainian has won every competition he’s entered, racking up All-around titles at the European Championships, European Games, World University Games and American Cup, the last of which earned him the FIG World Cup series title for the second consecutive year. While Verniaiev is considered Uchimura’s most serious rival, the two have yet to meet in competition in 2015. The last time the two competed in the same arena was in 2014 in Nanning, where Verniaiev finished fourth All-around. Uchimura, of course, won the gold.
Great Britain awaits its first king
Beth Tweddle was the pioneer on the women’s side, but no British man has yet won a World title in Men’s Gymnastics. Nevertheless, before and since the London Olympic Games, the sport has experienced unprecedented growth and popularity on the island. During the London Games, Louis Smith (silver on Pommel Horse), Max Whitlock (bronze on Pommel Horse), Kristian Thomas, Daniel Purvis and Sam Oldham made history by taking bronze in the team competition. Those first four, aided by Nile Wilson and Brinn Bevan this year, hope to do as well in Glasgow, the first stop on the road to Rio.
38 gold medals
With the exception of Jake Dalton (USA), all medallists from the 2014 Worlds in Nanning are expected to compete in Glasgow. Additionally, no fewer than 15 former World champions will be present, including Marian Dragulescu (ROU/9 World medals), Kohei Uchimura (JPN/7), Zhang Chenglong (CHN/4), Krisztian Berki (HUN/3), Epke Zonderland (NED/2), Diego Hypolito (BRA/2), Lin Chaopan (CHN/2), Liu Yang (CHN/2), Yuri Van Gelder (NED/1), Arthur Zanetti (BRA/1), Oleg Verniaiev (UKR/1), Kenzo Shirai (JPN/1), Danell Leyva (USA/1), Fabian Hambüchen (GER/1), Vlasios Maras (GRE/1).
Lords of the Rings
Five Olympic gold medallists from London 2012 will also be present in Glasgow to continue the grand adventure that all hope will lead them to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. These are Kohei Uchimura (JPN/All-around), Epke Zonderland (NED/Horizontal Bar), Arthur Zanetti (BRA/Still Rings), Krisztian Berki (HUN/Pommel Horse) and Zhang Chenglong (CHN/Team competition).
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