Arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, Uchimura has become the first athlete, male or female, to win every major all-around title in a single Olympic cycle with gold at the World Championships in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and now 2014, plus a gold at London 2012.

His score of 91.965 points was more than enough for gold over Great Britain's Max Whitlock, who scored 90.473 for silver, and Japan's Yusuke Tanaka, who earned 90.449 for bronze.

The five-time Olympic medallist was in a prime position to take gold after qualifying in first on Saturday (October 4).

It did not take long for him to assume the lead in the final with a flowing performance on the pommel horse, his second apparatus, sitting him atop the leaderboard.

By the end of the fifth rotation Uchimura was more than a point ahead of his closest rival, and he sealed his victory in the last rotation with a smooth, horizontal bar routine that earned a thunderous ovation.

Kohei Uchimura was dominant in his pursuit of a fifth consecutive World Championships all-around gold medal, beating his nearest rival by almost 1.5 points ©Getty Images



Britain's Whitlock was lucky to be competing in the final in China after originally missing out in qualification.

A maximum of two gymnasts per national federation may advance to a final, and, after ranking third on his team in qualifications, where team mates Daniel Purvis and Nile Wilson outscored him, he was set to miss out.

An injury to Wilson, who had complained of a sore wrist, gifted the Olympic bronze medallist a berth in the final, however; an opportunity he seized upon with a brilliant display of power and precision.

A score of 16.000 on the pommel horse - an apparatus he won gold on at the European Championships in Sofia earlier this year - set the tone for his success as he scored 90.473 points.

Great Britain's Max Whitlock was lucky to compete in the finals after finishing behind his two team mates in qualifying ©Getty Images



Tanaka also made the most of his unforeseen opportunity.

Following an inquiry into the difficulty score awarded to him on pommel horse in the second rotation, Tanaka's difficulty score was increased by 0.30 points.

The boost in Tanaka's mark early on in the competition ultimately meant the difference between bronze and no medal at all, as he edged Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev for third place by 0.151 points.

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