# Gymnastics at the 1984 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 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 29, 31 and August 4 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. There were 71 competitors from 19 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have to up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won in a tie between Li Ning of China, in the nation's debut in the Games, and Peter Vidmar, with the United States' first gold medal in the pommel horse since 1904 (and second overall) and first medal in the event since 1932. The bronze medal went to another American, Tim Daggett. The Soviet Union's eight-Games podium streak in the event ended with no Soviets competing due to the boycott.

## Background

This was the 16th 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). None of the six finalists from 1980 returned, as all were from boycotting nations. With the absence of the Soviets, East Germans, and Hungary's Zoltán Magyar (who had retired anyway), the field was open to the traditional power Japan and rising powers China and the United States. Li Xiaoping and Li Ning of China had taken second and fourth, respectively, at the 1983 world championships, the highest rankings of the non-boycotting nations; Li Xiaoping had won the world championship in 1981.
The People's Republic of China and San Marino each made their debut in the men's pommel horse. The United States made its 14th appearance, breaking a tie with the absent Hungary for most of any nation; the Americans had missed only the inaugural 1896 pommel horse and the boycotted 1980 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 1984 Games expanded the number of finalists from six to eight. Nations were still limited to two finalists each. Others were ranked 9th through 71st. Half of the preliminary score carried over to the final.

## Schedule

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 29 July 1984 | | Preliminary: Compulsory |
| Tuesday, 31 July 1984 | | Preliminary: Voluntary |
| Saturday, 4 August 1984 | 17:30 | Final |

## Results

Seventy-one gymnasts competed in the compulsory and optional rounds on July 29 and 31. The eight highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the final on August 4. 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 |
| | Li Ning | China | 10.00 | 9.90 | 19.90 | 9.950 | 10.000 | 19.950 |
| | Peter Vidmar | United States | 10.00 | 9.90 | 19.90 | 9.950 | 10.000 | 19.950 |
| | Tim Daggett | United States | 9.95 | 9.90 | 19.85 | 9.925 | 9.900 | 19.825 |
| 4 | Tong Fei | China | 9.85 | 9.85 | 19.70 | 9.850 | 9.900 | 19.750 |
| 5 | Jean-Luc Cairon | France | 9.75 | 9.85 | 19.60 | 9.800 | 9.900 | 19.700 |
| 6 | Nobuyuki Kajitani | Japan | 9.60 | 9.85 | 19.45 | 9.725 | 9.900 | 19.625 |
| 7 | Benno Groß | West Germany | 9.75 | 9.80 | 19.55 | 9.775 | 9.750 | 19.525 |
| 8 | Josef Zellweger | Switzerland | 9.70 | 9.80 | 19.50 | 9.750 | 9.750 | 19.500 |
| 9 | Mitchell Gaylord | United States | 9.90 | 9.85 | 19.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Bart Conner | United States | 9.80 | 9.75 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Jim Hartung | United States | 9.80 | 9.70 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Xu Zhiqiang | China | 9.75 | 9.75 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Brad Peters | Canada | 9.75 | 9.70 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Joël Suty | France | 9.70 | 9.75 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Jürgen Geiger | West Germany | 9.65 | 9.75 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Noritoshi Hirata | Japan | 9.60 | 9.80 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | Scott Johnson | United States | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 17 | Li Xiaoping | China | 10.00 | 9.35 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 19 | Tony Piñeda | Mexico | 9.50 | 9.80 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 20 | Bernhard Simmelbauer | West Germany | 9.65 | 9.65 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Koji Gushiken | Japan | 9.80 | 9.45 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Markus Lehmann | Switzerland | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Li Yuejiu | China | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 24 | Vittorio Allievi | Italy | 9.65 | 9.50 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 24 | Andrew Morris | Great Britain | 9.55 | 9.60 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 24 | Emilian Nicula | Romania | 9.55 | 9.60 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 27 | Jacques Def | France | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 27 | Marco Piatti | Switzerland | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 27 | Daniel Winkler | West Germany | 9.40 | 9.70 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 30 | Han Chung-sik | South Korea | 9.35 | 9.70 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 30 | Warren Long | Canada | 9.50 | 9.55 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 30 | Valentin Pîntea | Romania | 9.55 | 9.50 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 30 | Daniel Wunderlin | Switzerland | 9.55 | 9.50 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Shinji Morisue | Japan | 9.40 | 9.60 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Maurizio Zonzini | San Marino | 9.45 | 9.55 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 36 | Andreas Japtok | West Germany | 9.45 | 9.50 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 36 | Miguel Soler | Spain | 9.45 | 9.50 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Werner Birnbaum | Australia | 9.60 | 9.30 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Johan Jonasson | Sweden | 9.30 | 9.60 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 38 | Lee Jeoung-sik | South Korea | 9.40 | 9.50 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 41 | Philippe Chartrand | Canada | 9.45 | 9.40 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 41 | Alfonso Rodríguez | Spain | 9.45 | 9.40 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Finn Gjertsen | Norway | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Jang Tae-eun | South Korea | 9.20 | 9.60 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Keith Langley | Great Britain | 9.40 | 9.40 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Lou Yun | China | 9.20 | 9.60 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 43 | Koji Sotomura | Japan | 9.55 | 9.25 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Bruno Cavelti | Switzerland | 9.35 | 9.40 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Nam Seung-gu | South Korea | 9.25 | 9.50 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Barry Winch | Great Britain | 9.45 | 9.30 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 51 | Rocco Amboni | Italy | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 51 | Michel Boutard | France | 9.55 | 9.15 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 51 | Ju Yeong-sam | South Korea | 9.50 | 9.20 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 54 | Urs Meister | Switzerland | 9.45 | 9.20 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 54 | Volker Rohrwick | West Germany | 9.35 | 9.30 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 54 | Philippe Vatuone | France | 9.45 | 9.20 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 57 | Terence Bartlett | Great Britain | 9.45 | 9.15 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Daniel Gaudet | Canada | 9.45 | 9.10 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Frank Nutzenberger | Canada | 9.30 | 9.25 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Antonio Fraguas | Spain | 9.40 | 9.10 | 18.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 61 | Chae Gwang-seok | South Korea | 9.00 | 9.45 | 18.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 62 | Diego Lazzarich | Italy | 8.95 | 9.45 | 18.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 63 | Laurent Barbiéri | France | 9.20 | 9.05 | 18.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 64 | Yohanan Moyal | Israel | 8.85 | 9.25 | 18.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 65 | Kyoji Yamawaki | Japan | 8.65 | 9.40 | 18.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 66 | Allan Reddon | Canada | 9.60 | 8.20 | 17.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Richard Benyon | Great Britain | 8.25 | 9.35 | 17.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 68 | Gerson Gnoatto | Brazil | 8.05 | 9.35 | 17.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 69 | Eddie Van Hoof | Great Britain | 8.70 | 8.55 | 17.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 70 | Robert Edmonds | Australia | 9.45 | 7.60 | 17.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 71 | Ya'akov Levi | Israel | 8.60 | 8.25 | 16.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |