Pommelled Horse, Men

The format was similar to 1964 and 1968, with the best six gymnasts in the team all-around advancing to the apparatus final, with the final apparatus score made up of 50% of the all-around total and a final optional program. The last two gold medals had been won by Yugoslav Miroslav Cerar, considered at the time the greatest ever in this event, but he retired after the 1970 World Championships, which he also won, leaving this event fairly open. The leader after team qualifying was Japan’s Eizo Kenmotsu, who had been second to Cerar at the 1970 Worlds. But a weak final round dropped him to a bronze medal, as Soviet Viktor Klimenko moved up to the gold medal with the best final round performance. The silver went to Kenmotsu’s teammate Sawao Kato, the individual all-around champion. Kenmotsu would win a silver in the event at Montréal in 1976, trailing Hungarian Zoltán Magyar, who would win the gold medal in 1976-80 and challenge Cerar as the GOAT on pommelled horse.