# Gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's horizontal bar

The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 18, 20, and 23rd at the Montreal Forum. There were 90 competitors from 20 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Mitsuo Tsukahara of Japan, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the horizontal bar. It was the third consecutive victory by a Japanese gymnast in the event, and fifth in six Games. Japan also took silver, as Eizo Kenmotsu finished second, but was prevented from repeating its 1972 podium sweep by new rules that limited nations to two gymnasts in the final (Japan had the top four gymnasts in qualifying). Tsukuhara and Kenmotsu (bronze in 1968) were the seventh and eighth men to win multiple medals in the horizontal bar. Henri Boerio of France and Eberhard Gienger of West Germany tied for bronze, the first medal for France in the event since 1924 and first horizontal bar medal for West Germany.

## Background

This was the 14th 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). Four of the six finalists from 1972 returned: gold medalist Mitsuo Tsukahara, silver medalist Sawao Kato, and fourth-place finisher (and 1968 bronze medalist) Eizo Kenmotsu of Japan and sixth-place finisher Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union. Eberhard Gienger of West Germany was the reigning (1974) world champion.
Israel made its debut in the men's horizontal bar. The United States made its 13th 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. These exercise scores were also used for qualification for the 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, except that nations were limited to two finalists each; others were ranked 7th through 90th. Half of the preliminary score carried over to the final.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 18 July 1976 | 12:30 19:15 21:00 | Preliminary: Compulsory |
| Tuesday, 20 July 1976 | 15:00 19:00 20:45 | Preliminary: Voluntary |
| Friday, 23 July 1976 | 19:30 | Final |

## Results

Ninety gymnasts competed in the compulsory and optional rounds on July 18 and 20. The six highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the final on July 23. Each country was limited to two competitors in the final. Half of the points earned by each gymnast during both the compulsory and optional rounds carried over to the final. This constitutes the "prelim" score.
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Final | Final | Final |
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Compulsory | Voluntary | Total | 1⁄2 Prelim. | Final | Total |
| | Mitsuo Tsukahara | Japan | 9.75 | 9.90 | 19.65 | 9.775 | 9.900 | 19.675 |
| | Eizo Kenmotsu | Japan | 9.65 | 9.85 | 19.50 | 9.750 | 9.750 | 19.500 |
| | Eberhard Gienger | West Germany | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | 9.675 | 9.800 | 19.475 |
| | Henri Boerio | France | 9.60 | 9.75 | 19.35 | 9.675 | 9.800 | 19.475 |
| 5 | Gennady Krysin | Soviet Union | 9.50 | 9.80 | 19.30 | 9.525 | 9.600 | 19.125 |
| 6 | Ferenc Donath | Hungary | 9.55 | 9.65 | 19.20 | 9.500 | 9.450 | 18.950 |
| 7 | Hisato Igarashi | Japan | 9.60 | 9.85 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 8 | Sawao Kato | Japan | 9.65 | 9.75 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 9 | Vladimir Markelov | Soviet Union | 9.60 | 9.70 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Hiroshi Kajiyama | Japan | 9.50 | 9.75 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Nikolai Andrianov | Soviet Union | 9.70 | 9.50 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Bernd Jäger | East Germany | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Michael Nikolay | East Germany | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 14 | Tom Beach | United States | 9.45 | 9.65 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 14 | Alexander Dityatin | Soviet Union | 9.45 | 9.65 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 14 | Andrzej Szajna | Poland | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | Zoltán Magyar | Hungary | 9.50 | 9.55 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | Vladimir Marchenko | Soviet Union | 9.45 | 9.60 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Dan Grecu | Romania | 9.40 | 9.60 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 20 | Vladimir Tikhonov | Soviet Union | 9.30 | 9.65 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Robert Bretscher | Switzerland | 9.25 | 9.65 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Imre Molnar | Hungary | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Volker Rohrwick | West Germany | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Wayne Young | United States | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 25 | Béla Laufer | Hungary | 9.25 | 9.55 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 25 | Lutz Mack | East Germany | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 25 | Willi Moy | France | 9.40 | 9.40 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 25 | Kurt Thomas | United States | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Ueli Bachmann | Switzerland | 9.30 | 9.45 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Sorin Cepoi | Romania | 9.30 | 9.45 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 31 | Rainer Hanschke | East Germany | 9.40 | 9.30 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 31 | Peter Kormann | United States | 9.20 | 9.50 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Philip Delesalle | Canada | 9.40 | 9.25 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Wolfgang Klotz | East Germany | 9.20 | 9.45 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Bernhard Locher | Switzerland | 9.15 | 9.50 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 36 | Bart Conner | United States | 9.40 | 9.20 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 36 | Gustav Tannenberger | Czechoslovakia | 9.25 | 9.35 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Imre Bánrévi | Hungary | 9.25 | 9.30 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Roland Brückner | East Germany | 9.25 | 9.30 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Nicolae Oprescu | Romania | 9.15 | 9.40 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Ştefan Gal | Romania | 9.10 | 9.45 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Werner Steinmetz | West Germany | 9.20 | 9.35 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Marshall Avener | United States | 9.10 | 9.40 | 18.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Edgar Jorek | West Germany | 9.30 | 9.20 | 18.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 45 | Vladislav Nehasil | Czechoslovakia | 9.35 | 9.05 | 18.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Philippe Gaille | Switzerland | 9.05 | 9.30 | 18.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Andrey Keranov | Bulgaria | 9.15 | 9.20 | 18.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Bernard Decoux | France | 9.05 | 9.25 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Miloslav Netusil | Czechoslovakia | 9.15 | 9.15 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Marian Pieczka | Poland | 9.05 | 9.25 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Reinhard Dietze | West Germany | 8.95 | 9.35 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Eric Koloko | France | 9.35 | 8.95 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 53 | Mariusz Zasada | Poland | 9.30 | 8.90 | 18.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 53 | Jiri Tabak | Czechoslovakia | 9.00 | 9.20 | 18.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 55 | Keith Carter | Canada | 9.00 | 9.10 | 18.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 55 | Georgi Todorov | Bulgaria | 9.00 | 9.10 | 18.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 57 | Maurizio Montesi | Italy | 8.80 | 9.25 | 18.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Ole Benediktson | Denmark | 8.65 | 9.30 | 17.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Maurizio Milanetto | Italy | 8.65 | 9.30 | 17.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Peter Rohner | Switzerland | 9.05 | 8.90 | 17.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 61 | Patrick Boutet | France | 8.50 | 9.35 | 17.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 61 | Árpád Farkas | Hungary | 9.10 | 8.75 | 17.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 61 | Pierre Leclerc | Canada | 9.00 | 8.85 | 17.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 64 | Mihai Borş | Romania | 8.65 | 9.15 | 17.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 64 | Ion Checicheş | Romania | 8.90 | 8.90 | 17.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 66 | Angelo Zucca | Italy | 8.40 | 9.30 | 17.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 66 | Dimitar Koychev | Bulgaria | 8.75 | 8.95 | 17.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 66 | Roman Tkaczyk | Poland | 8.70 | 9.00 | 17.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 69 | Dov Lupi | Israel | 8.75 | 8.90 | 17.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 70 | Jan Zoulík | Czechoslovakia | 8.70 | 8.80 | 17.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 71 | Stoyan Delchev | Bulgaria | 8.45 | 8.95 | 17.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 71 | Łukasz Uhma | Poland | 8.55 | 8.85 | 17.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Michel Boutard | France | 9.20 | 8.15 | 17.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Gabriel Calvo | Spain | 8.40 | 8.95 | 17.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 75 | Ian Neale | Great Britain | 8.10 | 9.20 | 17.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 76 | Reinhard Ritter | West Germany | 8.05 | 9.20 | 17.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 76 | Zhivko Rusev | Bulgaria | 8.50 | 8.75 | 17.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 78 | José de la Casa | Spain | 8.60 | 8.60 | 17.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Tommy Wilson | Great Britain | 8.15 | 9.00 | 17.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 80 | Peter Lloyd | Australia | 8.40 | 8.70 | 17.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 81 | Grzegorz Ciastek | Poland | 8.90 | 8.15 | 17.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 81 | Dimitrios Janulidis | Czechoslovakia | 8.50 | 8.55 | 17.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 83 | Phil Cheetham | Australia | 8.65 | 8.30 | 16.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 83 | Jeff Davis | Great Britain | 8.15 | 8.80 | 16.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 85 | Toncho Todorov | Bulgaria | 8.20 | 8.70 | 16.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 86 | Nelson Fernández | Cuba | 7.60 | 9.15 | 16.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 87 | Fernando Bertrand | Spain | 7.30 | 8.90 | 16.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 88 | Shun Fujimoto | Japan | 9.60 | — | 9.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 89 | Roberto Richards | Cuba | 9.20 | — | 9.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 90 | Armin Vock | Switzerland | 8.90 | — | 8.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| — | Jorge Cuervo | Cuba | DNS | DNS | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |