# Gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's pommel horse

The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The event was held from 22 to 26 October at the Auditorio Nacional. There were 115 competitors from 27 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic pommel horse title. Olli Laiho of Finland took silver, while Mikhail Voronin of the Soviet Union finished with bronze. Japan's three-Games podium streak in the event ended, while the Soviet streak stretched to five Games.

## Background

This was the 12th appearance of the event, which is one of the five apparatus events held every time there were apparatus events at the Summer Olympics (no apparatus events were held in 1900, 1908, 1912, or 1920). Only one of the six finalists from 1964 returned: gold medalist Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia. Cerar had added another world championship to his pommel horse resume in 1966 and was the favorite to repeat as Olympic champion. Mikhail Voronin of the Soviet Union had been the runner-up at the world championships.
Ecuador made its debut in the men's pommel horse; East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. The United States made its 11th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the inaugural 1896 Games.

## Competition format

Each nation entered a team of six gymnasts or up to three individual gymnasts. All entrants in the gymnastics competitions performed both a compulsory exercise and a voluntary exercise for each apparatus. The scores for all 12 exercises were summed to give an individual all-around score. (Three gymnasts who entered the all-around did not compete on the pommel horse.)
These exercise scores were also used for qualification for the new apparatus finals. The two exercises (compulsory and voluntary) for each apparatus were summed to give an apparatus score; the top 6 in each apparatus participated in the finals; others were ranked 7th through 114th. In the final, each gymnast performed an additional voluntary exercise; half of the score from the preliminary carried over.

## Schedule

All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 22 October 1968 | 8:30 17:00 | Preliminary: Compulsory |
| Thursday, 24 October 1968 | 8:30 17:00 | Preliminary: Voluntary |
| Saturday, 26 October 1968 | 19:00 | Final |

## Results

| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Final | Final | Final |
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Compulsory | Voluntary | Total | 1⁄2 Prelim. | Final | Total |
| | Miroslav Cerar | Yugoslavia | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | 9.675 | 9.650 | 19.325 |
| | Olli Laiho | Finland | 9.45 | 9.70 | 19.15 | 9.575 | 9.650 | 19.225 |
| | Mikhail Voronin | Soviet Union | 9.70 | 9.50 | 19.20 | 9.600 | 9.600 | 19.200 |
| 4 | Wilhelm Kubica | Poland | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | 9.550 | 9.600 | 19.150 |
| 5 | Eizo Kenmotsu | Japan | 9.45 | 9.65 | 19.10 | 9.550 | 9.500 | 19.050 |
| 6 | Viktor Klimenko | Soviet Union | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | 9.550 | 9.400 | 18.950 |
| 7 | Dave Thor | United States | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 8 | Sergey Diomidov | Soviet Union | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 8 | Jiří Fejtek | Czechoslovakia | 9.40 | 9.60 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 8 | Sawao Kato | Japan | 9.45 | 9.55 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 8 | Mikołaj Kubica | Poland | 9.45 | 9.55 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Valery Karasyov | Soviet Union | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Akinori Nakayama | Japan | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Miloslav Netušil | Czechoslovakia | 9.30 | 9.55 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Mauno Nissinen | Finland | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 16 | Heinz Häussler | West Germany | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 16 | Willi Jaschek | West Germany | 9.25 | 9.55 | 18.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 18 | Matthias Brehme | East Germany | 9.50 | 9.25 | 18.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 19 | Steve Hug | United States | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 20 | Gerhard Dietrich | East Germany | 9.15 | 9.50 | 18.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 20 | Takeshi Katō | Japan | 9.20 | 9.45 | 18.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 22 | Viktor Lisitsky | Soviet Union | 9.30 | 9.30 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 22 | Paul Müller | Switzerland | 9.25 | 9.35 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 24 | Chung-tae Kim | South Korea | 9.15 | 9.35 | 18.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 25 | Valery Ilyinykh | Soviet Union | 9.05 | 9.40 | 18.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Yukio Endo | Japan | 9.20 | 9.20 | 18.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Sylwester Kubica | Poland | 9.00 | 9.40 | 18.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Peter Rohner | Switzerland | 9.10 | 9.30 | 18.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 29 | Michel Bouchonnet | France | 9.10 | 9.25 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 29 | Roland Hürzeler | Switzerland | 9.30 | 9.05 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 29 | Bohumil Mudřík | Czechoslovakia | 9.10 | 9.25 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 29 | Miloš Vratič | Yugoslavia | 8.95 | 9.40 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 33 | František Bočko | Czechoslovakia | 8.90 | 9.40 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 33 | Giovanni Carminucci | Italy | 8.95 | 9.35 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 33 | Hans Peter Nielsen | Denmark | 9.00 | 9.30 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 36 | Meinrad Berchtold | Switzerland | 8.90 | 9.35 | 18.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 37 | Bruno Franceschetti | Italy | 9.00 | 9.25 | 18.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 38 | Armando Valles | Mexico | 9.05 | 9.10 | 18.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 39 | Jerzy Kruża | Poland | 9.00 | 9.10 | 18.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 39 | Evert Lindgren | Sweden | 8.75 | 9.35 | 18.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 41 | Janez Brodnik | Yugoslavia | 8.85 | 9.15 | 18.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 42 | Luigi Cimnaghi | Italy | 9.10 | 8.85 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 42 | Andrzej Gonera | Poland | 8.85 | 9.10 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 42 | Gilbert Larose | Canada | 8.90 | 9.05 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Klaus Köste | East Germany | 9.25 | 8.65 | 17.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Václav Kubíčka | Czechoslovakia | 8.90 | 9.00 | 17.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Juhani Rahikainen | Finland | 9.00 | 8.90 | 17.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 48 | Hermann Höpfner | West Germany | 8.80 | 9.00 | 17.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 48 | Heikki Sappinen | Finland | 8.60 | 9.20 | 17.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 48 | Stan Wild | Great Britain | 8.70 | 9.10 | 17.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 51 | Pasquale Carminucci | Italy | 8.70 | 9.05 | 17.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 52 | Peter Weber | East Germany | 8.75 | 8.95 | 17.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 53 | Christian Guiffroy | France | 9.05 | 8.60 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 53 | Milenko Kersnić | Yugoslavia | 8.85 | 8.80 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 53 | Ivan Kondev | Bulgaria | 8.80 | 8.85 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 53 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | Japan | 9.40 | 8.25 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 57 | Reino Heino | Finland | 8.80 | 8.80 | 17.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 58 | Kanati Allen | United States | 9.00 | 8.55 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 58 | Vincenzo Mori | Italy | 8.70 | 8.85 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 58 | Fred Roethlisberger | United States | 8.85 | 8.70 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 58 | Aleksander Rokosa | Poland | 8.55 | 9.00 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 58 | Octavio Suárez | Cuba | 8.65 | 7.90 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 63 | Damir Anić | Yugoslavia | 8.35 | 9.15 | 17.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 63 | Steve Mitruk | Canada | 8.75 | 8.75 | 17.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 65 | Dezső Bordán | Hungary | 8.80 | 8.65 | 17.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 65 | Hans Ettlin | Switzerland | 8.95 | 8.50 | 17.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | István Aranyos | Hungary | 8.65 | 8.70 | 17.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | Steve Cohen | United States | 9.00 | 8.35 | 17.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | Christian Deuza | France | 9.00 | 8.35 | 17.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | Stefan Zoev | Bulgaria | 9.35 | 8.00 | 17.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 71 | Siegfried Fülle | East Germany | 9.05 | 8.25 | 17.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 71 | Sándor Kiss | Hungary | 8.75 | 8.55 | 17.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 73 | Georgi Adamov | Bulgaria | 9.05 | 8.20 | 17.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 73 | Tine Šrot | Yugoslavia | 8.60 | 8.65 | 17.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 73 | Fernando Valles | Mexico | 8.90 | 8.35 | 17.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 76 | Edwin Greutmann | Switzerland | 8.60 | 8.60 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 76 | Raycho Khristov | Bulgaria | 8.40 | 8.80 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 76 | Rogelio Mendoza | Mexico | 8.15 | 9.05 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 76 | Endre Tihanyi | Hungary | 8.65 | 8.55 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 80 | Finn Johannesson | Sweden | 8.55 | 8.60 | 17.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 81 | Erich Hess | West Germany | 8.85 | 8.25 | 17.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 82 | Roger Dion | Canada | 8.55 | 8.45 | 17.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 83 | Michael Booth | Great Britain | 8.40 | 8.40 | 16.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 83 | Helmut Tepasse | West Germany | 7.70 | 9.10 | 16.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Günter Beier | East Germany | 8.75 | 8.00 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Christer Jönsson | Sweden | 8.85 | 7.90 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Václav Skoumal | Czechoslovakia | 7.90 | 8.85 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Arne Thomsen | Denmark | 7.70 | 9.05 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 89 | Sid Jensen | Canada | 8.70 | 8.00 | 16.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 89 | Hannu Rantakari | Finland | 8.35 | 8.35 | 16.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 89 | Davaanyam Zagdbazaryn | Mongolia | 8.45 | 8.25 | 16.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 92 | Murray Chessell | Australia | 8.40 | 8.25 | 16.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 93 | Sid Freudenstein | United States | 8.75 | 7.85 | 16.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 94 | José Filipe Abreu | Portugal | 8.40 | 8.10 | 16.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 95 | Rumen Gabrovski | Bulgaria | 8.40 | 8.00 | 16.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 95 | Bozhidar Ivanov | Bulgaria | 7.70 | 8.70 | 16.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 97 | Béla Herczeg | Hungary | 8.75 | 7.60 | 16.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 98 | Luis Navarrete | Cuba | 7.90 | 8.25 | 16.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 99 | Konrád Mentsik | Hungary | 7.50 | 8.60 | 16.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 99 | Jorge Rodríguez | Cuba | 7.70 | 8.40 | 16.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 101 | Enrique García | Mexico | 7.55 | 8.40 | 15.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 102 | Heiko Reinemer | West Germany | 7.00 | 8.80 | 15.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 103 | José Vilchis | Mexico | 7.80 | 7.70 | 15.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 104 | Barry Brooker | Canada | 7.30 | 7.70 | 15.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 105 | José González | Mexico | 8.20 | 6.45 | 14.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 105 | Roberto Pumpido | Cuba | 6.85 | 7.80 | 14.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 107 | Luis Ramírez | Cuba | 6.75 | 7.80 | 14.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 108 | Larbi Lazhari | Algeria | 6.65 | 7.00 | 13.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 109 | Héctor Ramírez | Cuba | 8.30 | 4.50 | 12.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 110 | Chu-Long Lai | Chinese Taipei | 4.50 | 7.80 | 12.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 111 | Sergio Luna | Ecuador | 5.50 | 5.75 | 11.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 112 | Fu Cheng | Chinese Taipei | 3.50 | 6.95 | 10.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 113 | Pedro Rendón | Ecuador | 3.50 | 5.80 | 9.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 114 | Eduardo Nájera | Ecuador | 4.00 | 3.50 | 7.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 115 | Franco Menichelli | Italy | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |