Hamm Wins Gold in Closest Competition Ever

Things didn't look good for Paul Hamm last night after his attempt at the vault. Hamm was competing in the men's all-around when he fell during his landing for the vault. With the fall, he dropped to 12th overall with two disciplines remaining. Miraculously, Hamm then vaulted to 4th and then the gold in the final two events, the parallel bar and he horizontal bar. At the end of the competition, Hamm was ahead by .012 points and had the gold medal. The point differential was the smallest in the history of the event and the gold was the first ever won by an American in the event.

After the event, Hamm said, "I was really depressed because I thought I ruined everything with the vault. I was thinking, maybe I could win a bronze, but only maybe." The chips fell the right way and Hamm had two great performances to move into first. Kim Dae Eun and Yang Tae Young, both of South Korea came in second and third respectively.

The men's all-around competition includes the floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bar, and the horizontal bar.