Paul Hamm

Paul Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is a US gymnast. He became the first American man to win the all-round title at the world championships in Anaheim, California in 2003. He competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, alongside his twin brother Morgan, taking gold in the individual all-around competition, becoming the only American man in Olympic history to win the gold medal in that event.

Related Topics:
September 24 - 1982 - Washburn, Wisconsin - US - Gymnast - Anaheim, California - 2004 Summer Olympics - Athens - Morgan

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Hamm held a good position after three rounds, but a disastrous fall on the vault, in which he nearly fell into the judges' bench, dropped him to 12th place and he looked to be completely out of the running for a medal of any sort. However, numerous faults by the other gymnasts, combined with Hamm's excellent performance on the parallel bars, returned him to fourth place after the fifth rotation. His exceptional high bar routine gained him a score of 9.837, winning him the gold medal by a margin of .012, the closest in Olympic Gymnastics history. His scores on the six disciplines were:

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• Floor: 9.725 (1st)
• Pommel horse: 9.700 (4th)
• Rings: 9.587 (8th)
• Vault: 9.137 (22nd)
• Parallel bars: 9.837 (1st)
• Horizontal bar: 9.837 (1st)
• Overall: 57.823 (1st)
 
Paul Hamm: Gold medal controversy ►