The 28-year-old Victorian will become the first Australian Men’s Artistic Gymnast to compete in an Olympic final.  

Qualifying for the Olympic Games after finishing 7^th at the 2019 Stuttgart World Championships, Bull made his Olympic debut on day one of competition, putting together a spectacular routine to earn a score of 14.433, a personal best on the international stage, to qualify 7^th for the final.  

By the time Bull steps on to the competition floor to compete for the last time in Tokyo, it would have been an 11 day wait, allowing the High Bar specialist extra recovery and preparation time.  

Having sustained injuries that presented challenges over the last 12 months, it’s been a challenging journey to Tokyo for Bull, who was elated with his performance in the initial qualifying round. 

Known for his ‘go big or go home’ attitude and approach to competition, Bull will have tough competition ahead of him if he hopes to land on the podium and will be fifth to compete on the apparatus.  

It might take a bit of luck as well as a skill upgrade to knock Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto off the top spot, the host nation’s medal hope scoring a 15.033 in qualifying with Milad Karimi from Kazakhstan (14.766) and Tin Srbic of Croatia (14.633) rounding out the top three.  

Athletes from strong gymnastics nations including the USA, Russian Olympic Committee and the Netherlands will also compete in the final. 

But in an apparatus known for its spectacular show and unpredictable results, Bull’s ‘never play it safe’ approach could once again be strong in the field and see the Aussie land in the spotlight.  

The session will also host the final of the Men’s Parallel Bar and Women’s Balance Beam apparatus.  

You can tune in and watch Bull’s attempt at the first ever Australian Men’s Artistic Olympic medal LIVE on 7Olympics and 7Plus. The session begins at 6pm AEST, with the Men’s High Bar final expected to begin at 7:30pm AEST.  

Shannon Knaus