Japan retain world team gymnastics title and secure Olympic place

Japan retained the men’s team title at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam on Tuesday, with a late recovery also securing their place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The reigning Olympic champions finished on 251.928 points, 1.599 clear of the Russian gymnasts competing as World Gymnastics 2, who took silver with 250.329. China completed the podium on 249.193, with all three medallists earning Olympic team places.

Japan’s victory depended on two strong high bar routines at the end of a final in which mistakes repeatedly changed the standings. Fusuke Maeda scored 14.333 before Daiki Hashimoto closed with 14.866, restoring control after Shohei Kawakami had fallen on the apparatus.

Shinnosuke Oka had also fallen on parallel bars earlier in the contest. With every performed routine counting towards the team total, Japan needed their closing performances to absorb those setbacks and stay ahead of their rivals.

Great Britain led after four of the six rotations but lost their medal chance through errors on parallel bars and high bar. They finished fourth with 247.395, ahead of Switzerland on 246.497 and the United States on 245.161.

China’s Zou Jingyuan produced an outstanding 15.366 on parallel bars, but mistakes elsewhere prevented his team from taking gold. The Netherlands finished seventh and Colombia eighth in the eight-team final at Rotterdam Ahoy.

The result gives Japan an eighth men’s world team title and a second in succession, following their victory in 2023. They also won the Olympic team competition in Paris in 2024.

The three medal-winning teams have taken the first available Olympic places. The remaining nine men’s team berths for Los Angeles will be decided at next year’s world championships in China.

Sources

• Japan win eighth world team title — World Gymnastics (2026-10-20)
• Men’s team final official results — World Gymnastics (2026-10-20)
• Japan win team gold — International Gymnast (2026-10-20)
• Japan retain men’s world team title — Reuters (2026-10-20)