For Jesse Moore, making his Olympic debut at Paris 2024 has been nothing short of ‘incredible.’
The 21-year-old finished 21st in the men’s All-Around Final for Artistic Gymnastics to become the first Aussie to qualify for the Olympic final since Josh Jeffries in London 12 years ago.
And the experience has only made him hungry for more success.
“It’s the Olympics and you try and treat it like another competition, but it’s not; it’s a real experience,” Jesse said.
“I just want to be back out there doing it again. Words can’t really describe the atmosphere out there and how it feels to be here.”
Taking to the floor for the men’s Artistic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final against some of the undisputed champions of the sport, Jesse’s consistency across many of the apparatus was once again impressively on display on a night of unexpected falls and costly errors from several of his fellow gymnasts.
His vault was especially notable, achieving a 14.333 with a stuck landing helping to secure an apparatus-high execution score of 9.533.
Despite falls on High Bar (12.366) and Floor (12.533), Jesse’s clean lines and precise landings were nonetheless clear for all to see, with the 21-year-old admitting the errors were a ‘learning curve for next time’.
“I tried to attack every skill and every tenth, but I went a bit too hard.”
Other highlights included a score of 13.866 on Parallel Bars and an improved routine on Pommel Horse, his favoured event, earning him a score of 14.466, a definitive ending to his Olympic campaign.
“I’m glad I could finally conquer that pommel routine. All that was going through my head was to finish strong and I did that,” he said.
Reflecting on his aspirations for the future and the impact of his recent achievements, Jesse shared his vision for the sport.
“I think the goal is to push for a team next time and over the next four years, we’ll be striving for that,” he said.
“I hope this performance can inspire other gymnasts and young athletes as well.”
The gold medal was won by Shinnosuke Oka (JPN) while top qualifier Zhang Boheng (CHN) bounced back from a fall on his opening apparatus to sensationally claim silver, with his teammate Ruoteng Xiao rounding out the podium with bronze.
Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Daiki Hashimoto struggled throughout the evening, recording a fall on Pommel Horse to see him finish in 6th.
The Artistic Gymnastics competition continues when Ruby Pass returns to compete in the Women’s Individual All-Around Final from 2:15am AEST on Friday 2 August.
Zoe Lorenzin
