All-Japan All Around Championships 2023: Banged-up Hashimoto Daiki qualifies for men's final: 'I have the pride of being a world champion'
The two-time defending champion of the competition said not only does he have a fractured back but also a badly injured right ankle. Yet it didn't stop him from marching into the men's final less than 0.1 out of first place.
Artistic Gymnastics
On top of a fractured lower back, Hashimoto Daiki has a badly injured right ankle, so bad that he could barely walk two days ago.
Yet somehow, he is in second place going into the men’s final of the All-Japan All Around Championships, within striking distance of a third consecutive title.
“I did it on the vault two days ago during podium training,” Hashimoto revealed on Friday (21 April) after the preliminary round when he came away with 86.065 points - less than one tenth of a point behind Miwa Teppei.
“I really owe it to the trainers for the work they’ve done, to get me to this point. The goal today was to not aggravate it. I thought I performed pretty well all things considered.”
Tokyo 2020 Olympians Kaya Kazuma and Tanigawa Wataru trailed in third (85.499) and fourth (84.698), respectively.
Friday was the first time Hashimoto went through all six apparatus since he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back in January.
As if that wasn’t challenging enough, the pain in his ankle made it difficult for him to sprint. His trainer warned that a bad landing could worsen the injury.
But Hashimoto did more than avoid aggravating the ankle. He topped the horizontal bar, his signature event, and pommel horse with relative ease.
“I ticked off every box I was hoping to tick off today,” said the 21-year-old. “It would have been nice to go through first but today was the first time I attempted all six events since the stress fracture early in the year. I wasn’t entirely sure of myself because of the lack of training but I feel pretty confident now.
“I don’t feel any discomfort in my back which is good. It’ll probably be sore tomorrow so I need to do my treatment tonight and see if I feel in the morning.
“But I should be fine for the final. Just don’t push it and get ready.”
Vowing a turnaround win in the final, the reigning Olympic and world champion pinned Friday’s performance down to largely one thing: pride.
“At the world championships last year, my wrist hurt, my back hurt and I still got through six events and won the gold medal,” Hashimoto said.
“It gave me a lot of confidence because I found out that if I hold up my end of the bargain, I can win no matter what kind of shape I’m in.
“I want to win. I have the pride of being a world champion. I know how to come from behind and win; I’ve done it many times. I have the mindset, the technique to pull it off.”