Sexy Alexei grabs gold

Alexei Nemov celebrates his gold medal win

Russian Alexei Nemov led all the way to take the Olympic gold in the men's all-round gymnastics event on Wednesday.

Nemov had to settle for the silver behind Li Xiaoshuang by a wafer-thin .049 of a point four years ago in Atlanta.

But in Sydney, he grabbed the lead on the opening apparatus and never let go, finishing with a total of 58.474.

The 24-year-old Russian, known as Sexy Alexei to his legions of female fans, produced a performance as solid as his chiselled physique.

He recorded top marks in three of the six events and second best on another.

The most difficult part of the competition was the start. I felt I could fall at any time

  Alexei Nemov

"I just have to thank everyone who supported me," said Nemov, after receiving his seventh Olympic medal and third gold.

"The most difficult part of the competition was the start, I felt I could fall at any time."

Yang Wei, who helped China to its first gold medal in the team event on Monday, added a silver to his total with 58.361.

European all-round champion Alexander Beresh, of the Ukraine, took the bronze with 58.212.

It was a bitter evening for two-time world champion Ivan Ivankov of Belarus, who missed the Atlanta Games when he tore his achilles tendon just before the opening ceremony.

Nemov in action on the horizontal bar

Ivankov arrived in Sydney as the joint favourite in the all-round alongside Nemov, his friend and former team-mate on the Russian junior team before the Soviet Union's break-up.

But while Nemov celebrated, Ivankov fell into his coach's arms, burying his head into his shoulder, after finishing fourth.

"It was my best effort, all that I could do," said Ivankov. "I do not really feel like I lost, it's sport.

"I won't give up, there's still the apparatus finals."

It was also an evening to forget for Japan's top medal hope Naoya Tsukahara.

The son of the legendary Japanese gymnast Mitsuo Tsukahara and a silver medallist at last year's world championships, Tsukahara never recovered from a disastrous performance on the pommel horse, finishing 18th.

The two favourites began the competition at direct opposite ends of the arena, Ivankov on the pommel and Nemov on the high bar.

By the end of the first phase it appeared the competition would turn into a two-man confrontation.

Daring

Nemov opened his account with a daring routine which was rewarded with a mark of 9.787, followed closely by Ivankov with a 9.750 for his muscular performance on the horse.

Nemov, world champion on the floor exercise, increased his advantage with a near-flawless performance in that discipline, recording a 9.800, a mark Ivankov could not match on the rings.

After Nemov made it through the rings, his weakest event, without a major error and a respectable mark of 9.687, the battle with Ivankov had ended and Wei took over the chase.

But Wei was never able to seriously worry the Russian despite a consistent effort that saw him score 9.7s on all six apparatus.

Nemov, who will be looking to add more gold to his total in the apparatus finals on Sunday, closed the evening in spectacular fashion, recording the highest score on the parallel bars.