Tikumporn Surintornta

Athletes competing in men’s artistic gymnastics from 34 countries set, matched, or broke records for their nations at the world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, making history in the sport and inspiring future generations of athletes to follow in their footsteps.

View the complete list of world ranking records.

ALGERIA

Ahmed-Riadh Aliouat, a 21-year-old who made his international debut in 2023 and reached his first world cup final earlier this year, had a clean performance on high bar at worlds this year to finish in 46th place, the best an Algerian athlete has ranked on this apparatus since Yousef Sebti finished 52nd in 2007.

ARMENIA

Two of the most exciting newcomers on the senior men’s scene this year were Mamikon Khachatryan and Hamlet Manukyan, both pommel horse prodigies who took the top two spots on the podium at Euros in May. Both reached the final and had strong shots at medaling in one of the most competitive fields in Jakarta. Ultimately, Manukyan finished just off the podium in fourth while Khachatryan won the silver medal, which is the best-ever finish for an Armenian man on this apparatus after Harutyun Merdinyan won a pair of bronze medals in 2015 and 2022.

AUSTRALIA

Jesse Moore first put himself on the map last summer when he earned a spot to compete at the Olympic Games through the continental qualifier, where he won the all-around despite two falls on high bar. He went on to make the all-around final in Paris, and his future as a massive talent for Australia was clear. He easily reached the all-around final in Jakarta, and though he again had to fight past some mistakes, he managed to finish an impressive 11th place, which is the best ranking for an Australian man in history, ahead of Joshua Jefferis’ 12th-place finish from 2006.

CAMEROON

This year marked the first appearance for Cameroon at world championships! The program sent two athletes – 25-year-old Ruben Sodea and 23-year-old Ledoux Ngorbo – to compete a few events apiece in Jakarta, and Sodea set the program’s records with a 52nd-place finish on vault, a 94th-place finish on floor, and a 109th-place finish on parallel bars.

CANADA

Over the past few decades, the Canadian men had managed to qualify into every final except one – the always elusive pommel horse. That changed this year when Aidan Li showed one of the best-executed routines in qualifications to surprise for a spot over some very heavy hitters! He ended up finishing eighth in the field, making him the country’s top pommels athlete in history and breaking Zachary Clay’s 11th-place record from 2022.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Though the Cayman Islands have sent a few women to world championships over the past decade, this year marked the first MAG appearance for the nation! Unfortunately 20-year-old Karthik Adapa injured his elbow during the touch warmup for high bar, his second apparatus of the meet, but he still adds his name to the record books with his 107th-place finish on parallel bars.

CHILE

Luciano Letelier is one of the top prospects for the Chilean MAG program, and though he had a miss on his super difficult high bar set in qualifications, he still managed to finish in 40th place, the top ranking for his program on this apparatus since Christian Bruno was 56th in 2014.

CHINA

The Chinese MAG program has finished at the top of the podium in every final throughout its history in the sport. In Jakarta, two athletes continued the gold tradition, with Hong Yanming winning on pommel horse and Zou Jingyuan taking another title on parallel bars.

Hong’s gold marked the eighth pommels win for China, with the 19-year-old following in the footsteps of Li Xiaoping in 1981, Li Jing in 1992, Teng Haibin in 2003, Xiao Qin in 2006 and 2007, Zhang Hongtao in 2009, and Xiao Ruoteng in 2018.

This was the fourth gold medal for Zou on p-bars after he also won in 2017, 2018, and 2022, and it was the country’s 18th p-bars gold in history. Others who have won include Lou Yun in 1983, Li Jing in 1989, 1991, and 1992, Huang Liping in 1994, Zhang Jinjing in 1997, Li Xiaopeng in 2002 and 2003, Yang Wei in 2006, Weng Guanyin in 2009, Feng Zhe in 2010, Lin Chaopan in 2013, You Hao in 2015, and Hu Xuwei in 2021.

COLOMBIA

After making history for Colombia last summer by winning the silver medal on high bar at the Olympic Games in his first season at the senior level, 19-year-old Angel Barajas kept up his streak in Jakarta. Barajas qualified into the all-around and parallel bars finals, and though he missed the podiums for both, his sixth-place all-around finish was the best in history, breaking the 10th-place record from Jossimar Calvo in 2014, and he also had the program’s best finish on p-bars, finishing fourth to break Calvo’s fifth-place record from 2022.

CYPRUS

Marios Georgiou is no stranger to the record books for Cyprus, with his name on the list for the country’s best finishes in the all-around as well as on pommels and p-bars. He didn’t break any of his records this year, but he did manage to finish 12th on pommels, matching the record he first set back in 2017.

CZECHIA

Most of the Czech program’s records date back to the 90s, but in recent years, Ondrej Kalny has been trying to change that. In 2021, he finished 14th on floor to break that record, and this year, he narrowly missed the vault final with a ninth-place finish, breaking the 19th-place record set by David Spilka in 1996. Had Kalny reached the final, he would’ve been the first Czech athlete to compete in a worlds final since the program first made an appearance in 1994 – next year’s goal!

EGYPT

Olympian Omar Mohamed made history in Jakarta as the first Egyptian man to qualify into an all-around final, with his 23rd-place finish breaking his own 26th-place record from 2022! This is the first time an athlete from Egypt has reached an individual final since Walid Said El Dariny reached the rings final in 2001.

GREAT BRITAIN

This was a super successful world championships for the British men overall, and the couple of records they managed to set were a cherry on top! On floor, Jake Jarman won the gold medal, becoming the second British man in history to accomplish this after Giarnni Regini-Moran first did it in 2022, while Joe Fraser’s bronze on high bar was the program’s first medal on that apparatus, with Fraser breaking Nile Wilson’s fourth-place record from 2014.

ICELAND

In his second world championships appearance, Dagur Olafsson made history as the first MAG athlete from Iceland to qualify into the world all-around final! He ultimately finished 24th, breaking Runar Alexandersson’s 32nd-place record from qualifications in 2003, and he is also notable as the first Icelandic finalist since Alexandersson made the parallel bars final in 2002.

INDONESIA

This year marked Indonesia’s sixth appearance at world championships, and a trio athletes broke all but two program records, an achievement made especially poignant as the men competed on home soil just weeks after the death of their would-be worlds teammate Naufal Takdir Al Bari, who passed away while attempting a skill on high bar at a training camp in Russia.

Abiyurafi, 23, put up the program’s best finish in the all-around, breaking the 57th-place record set by Jonathan Mangiring Sianturi in Indonesia’s first worlds appearance back in 1994. He also broke the records on floor, where he finished 33rd (an improvement from Sianturi’s 34th-place finish in 1994), and on high bar, where he finished 52nd (an improvement from Khaerudin Pasaribu’s 80th-place finish in 1994).

Additionally, 22-year-old Tri Wira Yudha finished in 80th place on parallel bars, breaking Sianturi’s 143rd-place record from 1995, and 31-year-old Agung Akbar finished in 90th place on pommel horse, breaking Endriadi’s 98th-place record from 2011.

JAMAICA

Dorian Doan, who lives and trains in Canada, kicked off his international career representing Jamaica in Jakarta and broke a record in the process when he finished 79th on high bar, an improvement from Reiss Beckford’s 103rd-place finish from 2017. His teammate Clayton Bell, who came up through the British program, also had a historic moment as the first Jamaican athlete to compete two vaults, setting the program record with his 40th-place finish.

JAPAN

As one of a legendary few programs that has won gold in every final, the goal here was about matching records, which the team managed to do in the all-around when Hashimoto Daiki won his third-straight title after previously winning golds in 2022 and 2023. Other Japanese all-around gold medalists include Kenmotsu Eizo in 1970, Kasamatsu Shigeru in 1974, Tomita Hiroyuki in 2005, and Uchimura Kohei in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015, making this the country’s 12th all-around title in history!

JORDAN

In his third worlds appearance and first time back on the scene since 2019, 24-year-old Saleem Naghouj managed to break a program record on parallel bars, where his 79th-place finish was an improvement from Adham Al Sqour’s 85th-place finish in 2017.

MONACO

Kevin Crovetto, an Olympian and veteran who remains the only athlete to represent Monaco at this level since the program’s worlds debut in 2011, only competed on one apparatus in Jakarta, and though it didn’t go as planned, his 115th-place finish was still a big improvement from his last – and best – performance on that apparatus, when he finished 187th in 2019.

NAMIBIA

This was the third time we saw Namibia at world championships, with Immanuel Kooper the first gymnast to compete for the MAG program since 2011. He managed to break every program record here, most notably becoming the first Namibian gymnast to compete two vaults, with his 56th-place finish also the highest ranking of all time for the program on any event.

His other rankings included 59th in the all-around (an improvement from Jacob Mostert’s 125th-place finish in 2003), 101st on rings (an improvement from Mostert’s 170th-place finish in 2003), 110th on high bar (an improvement from Robert Honiball’s 138th-place finish in 2011), 116th on p-bars (an improvement from Mostert’s 195th-place finish in 2003), 122nd on floor (an improvement from Mostert’s 167th-place finish in 2003), and 129th on pommels (an improvement from Mostert’s 157th-place finish in 2003).

NORWAY

The Norwegian program has been making slow but steady improvements on its all-around rankings thanks to the current generation of athletes. In 2021, Sofus Heggemsnes became the first all-around finalist for the country since 1979. He finished 21st there and improved his ranking to 19th a year later, breaking the record both times, and this year that record was broken again with Sebastian Sponevik placing 18th in Jakarta.

PANAMA

Pablo Broszio was the first gymnast from Panama to compete at worlds back in 2021, and his return on three apparatuses this year came with one new record for the program. On rings, he finished in 76th place, which was an improvement from his 81st-place ranking four years ago.

PERU

The Peruvian team has been growing in strength over the past few years, and this year was no different, with two athletes each breaking two records in Jakarta. Jesus Moreto became the program’s best all-arounder with his 51st-place finish, breaking Edward Gonzales’ 69th-place record from 2022, and he also broke the record on parallel bars, where his 58th-place finish was an improvement from Gonzales in 100th place in 2022.

Daniel Alarcon in his worlds debut also broke one of Gonzales’ 2022 records, finishing 89th on rings for an improvement from 116th place, and his 103rd-place finish on high bar broke Jimmy Figueroa’s 114th-place finish from 2017.

PHILIPPINES

Carlos Yulo already owned every record for the Philippines – including first-place records on floor and vault – having been a star for the program since his debut in 2018. This year, he won the second vault title of his career, matching his accomplishment from 2021.

QATAR

Qatar returned to worlds for the first time in seven years in Jakarta, where 21-year-old Al-Harith Rakan stunned on pommel horse to finish 27th in qualifications, breaking Ahmed Al Dyani’s 40th-place record from 2015. This is also Qatar’s best individual finish on any event in history!

SERBIA

Petar Vefic only competed on one apparatus in Jakarta, but it was a massive success as he managed to break his own record in the process. This year, he finished 32nd on parallel bars, a massive improvement from his 75th-place finish in 2023, which also marks the program’s best-ever individual ranking on any event.

SINGAPORE

All of Singapore’s world records have held strong for more than a decade, but 18-year-old Barr Abdul finally – and narrowly – broke one of these in Jakarta when he finished 100th on high bar, an improvement from Gabriel Gan Zi Jie’s 101st-place finish in 2013.

SLOVENIA

Rings standout Luka Bojanc was one of three specialists for Slovenia hoping to make a final in Jakarta, and though it didn’t end up happening for him, his 40th-place finish was the program’s best on this apparatus, breaking the 49th-place record from Mitja Petkovsek in 1997.

SRI LANKA

Jakarta marked Sri Lanka’s fourth MAG appearance at worlds, and the two athletes who represented the program this year managed to break every record they attempted.

Nadila Nethviru broke four of them, finishing 53rd in the all-around (an improvement from Smeera Kanayake’s 173rd-place finish in 2001), 70th on pommels (an improvement from Kanayake’s 212th-place finish in 2001), 87th on floor (an improvement from Eranga Asela’s 198th-place finish in 2003), and 97th on high bar (an improvement from Asela’s 211th-place finish in 2001). Thenuka Nawarathna, meanwhile, finished 98th on rings (an improvement from Kanayake’s 210th-place finish in 2001) and 106th on p-bars (an improvement from Prasad Ekanayake Mudiyanselage’s 123rd-place finish in 2017).

SYRIA

Abdullah Tarrab had two historic moments for Syria in Jakarta! As the first athlete from the program to compete two vaults, his 25th-place finish there set the record both on that apparatus and also as the top ranking across any event, while his 97th-place finish on high bar broke the 109th-place record from Lais Najjar in 2022.

THAILAND

After making his first worlds appearance back in 2017, Tikumporn Surintornta has slowly been climbing the floor rankings, improving his record from 63rd in his debut to 58th in 2018 and then 23rd in 2021. It’s been four years since we last saw him at the world level, but the wait was worth it, as he became the first Thai athlete to qualify into a final, making history with his fifth-place finish. He also placed 16th on vault in qualifications here, breaking the 25th-place record set by Robert Tee Kriangkum in 2014.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

In the third worlds appearance for Trinidad & Tobago’s MAG program, Jameel Ali broke four of Joseph Fox’s records that he set in the program’s debut in 2017. He finished 54th in the all-around (a slight bump from 55th place), 60th on floor (an improvement from 77th place), 68th on rings (an improvement from 113th place), and 98th on high bar (an improvement from 109th place).

UNITED STATES

Despite an injury to Asher Hong during training prior to the competition in Jakarta, the U.S. men had one of their best worlds outings in years, with athletes qualifying into every apparatus final except vault and walking away with three medals – two of them gold.

The most exciting here was Donnell Whittenburg taking the title on rings, becoming the first American athlete to win gold on this apparatus and making this the best finish on the event since Paul O’Neill won silver in 1994. Also winning gold was Brody Malone on high bar, marking his second title on the apparatus after also winning in 2022, and the third title for the U.S. men in history as Kurt Thomas also won in 1979.

VIETNAM

Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien made his worlds debut this year competing just on pommel horse, and though he had a miss here on his high-difficulty set and couldn’t contend for a spot in the final, he still managed to finish in 48th place, breaking the 54th-place record set by Dinh Phuong Thanh in 2018.

Article by Lauren Hopkins