PICTURED: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / picture
The Styrian shone in the qualification in Kitakyushu, Japan, on Wednesday with 14.766 points, which meant that last year’s vice-European champion took third place on a par with two competitors. Only the Chinese Lan Xingyu (15,266) and Zhang Boheng (13,866) were better than the 25-year-old.
“It worked out perfectly for me today, everything went perfectly. I am overjoyed,” cheered Höck, who was the first Austrian ever to make it into a World Cup equipment final, tied with the Turkish defending champion Ibrahim Colak and the Russian Grigori Klimentjew. The medal competition for the top eight is scheduled for Saturday (12 noon / CET).
ÖFT sports director Fabian Leimlehner was very happy. “It's unbelievable what Vinzi has delivered today, I have no words. He is an absolute full professional, can handle the pressure sensationally well. Vinzenz was the very last person in the entire World Cup qualification to answer the machine, and two hours later. He knew exactly that he had to do perfect gymnastics, that the scores were higher than at every World Cup before. And then he even slams off the third best freestyle, “said Leimlehner.
The long hiatus occurred because two athletes tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result, all equipment and the interior of the hall were disinfected before the preliminary battle continued. The FIG world association has not yet issued an explanation of the events. The names of the athletes affected are not known.
Only for one place in the final did Alexander Benda miss the 25th place in the all-around event. But he could still move up due to the corona cases. Marlies Männersdorfer made it in 24th place on Tuesday, her final will take place on Thursday (11.15 am). Some international aces such as the US women's first guard around Simone Biles and the Russian team Olympic champions around Nikita Nagorni are not at the start in Japan.
