The electric atmosphere of Bercy Arena was on full display on Saturday afternoon as South Australian Jesse Moore made his Olympic debut in the men’s Artistic Gymnastics qualifications.
Australia’s sole representative in the Men’s Artistic competition, Jesse opened his competition on Floor with dynamic tumbles and distinctive flair, scoring 13.966 to set the tone for the rest of his afternoon.
Hitting six routines from six across the apparatus, the 21-year-old displayed a confidence that belied his age and relative youth, going from strength-to-strength throughout the event.
A minor mistake on Pommel Horse did little to deter his efforts, with the quality of his routines improving to see him score 14.233 on Vault and 14.2 on Parallel Bars.
With High Bar rounding out Jesse’s competition, it was his routine to hit. He delivered a strong score of 13.566 to finish his competition, with an All-Around score of 82.698.
“Words can’t describe it. I tried to treat it like another competition, but it isn’t. It was just incredible,” Jesse said of his debut.
“I’m pretty happy (with my performance). A little hiccup on Pommel, but other than that, very happy with everything else. I think I’m in a good spot for the All-Around Final.”
The conclusion of the final session of the day saw Jesse finish in 15th, confirming his qualification through to the Individual All-Around Final.
With this result, Jesse becomes the the first Australian since Joshua Jefferis in London 2012 to qualify through to the men's Individual All-Around Final.
Jesse will compete in the men’s Individual All-Around competition at 1:30am AEST (Thursday 1 August).
The gymnastics competition continues with the women’s Artistic Gymnastics Qualification. The Australian Team will compete in subdivision five at 5:10am AEST (Monday 29 July).
Zoe Lorenzin
