# Gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's parallel bars

The men's parallel bars competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. There were 117 competitors from 28 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 Akinori Nakayama of Japan, the nation's second consecutive victory in the parallel bars event, tying Germany and the Soviet Union for second-most all-time behind Switzerland at three gold medals. It was the second of four straight Games that the parallel bars would be won by a Japanese gymnast. Mikhail Voronin took silver and Viktor Klimenko took bronze to put the Soviet Union back on the podium after a one-Games absence.

## 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). Five of the six finalists from 1964 returned: gold medalist Yukio Endo of Japan, bronze medalist Franco Menichelli of Italy, fourth-place finisher Sergey Diomidov and fifth-place finisher Victor Lisitsky of the Soviet Union, and sixth-place finisher Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia. Diomidov had won the 1966 world championship, with fellow Soviet Mikhail Voronin second and Cerar third.
Ecuador and the Philippines each made their debut in the men's parallel bars; 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.
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 117th. 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 |
| | Akinori Nakayama | Japan | 9.70 | 9.85 | 19.55 | 9.775 | 9.700 | 19.475 |
| | Mikhail Voronin | Soviet Union | 9.75 | 9.70 | 19.45 | 9.725 | 9.700 | 19.425 |
| | Viktor Klimenko | Soviet Union | 9.60 | 9.65 | 19.25 | 9.625 | 9.600 | 19.225 |
| 4 | Takeshi Katō | Japan | 9.60 | 9.70 | 19.30 | 9.650 | 9.550 | 19.200 |
| 5 | Eizo Kenmotsu | Japan | 9.60 | 9.65 | 19.25 | 9.625 | 9.550 | 19.175 |
| 6 | Václav Kubíčka | Czechoslovakia | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | 9.600 | 9.350 | 18.950 |
| 7 | Sawao Kato | Japan | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | did not compete | did not compete | did not compete |
| 8 | Christian Guiffroy | France | 9.55 | 9.65 | 19.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 9 | Yukio Endo | Japan | 9.65 | 9.50 | 19.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 9 | Valery Karasyov | Soviet Union | 9.55 | 9.60 | 19.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 9 | Wilhelm Kubica | Poland | 9.50 | 9.65 | 19.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Matthias Brehme | East Germany | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Miroslav Cerar | Yugoslavia | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | Roland Hürzeler | Switzerland | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 15 | Hans Ettlin | Switzerland | 9.55 | 9.50 | 19.05 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 15 | Mikołaj Kubica | Poland | 9.45 | 9.60 | 19.05 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 15 | Olli Laiho | Finland | 9.50 | 9.55 | 19.05 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 15 | Miloslav Netušil | Czechoslovakia | 9.45 | 9.60 | 19.05 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 19 | Milenko Kersnić | Yugoslavia | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 19 | Mauno Nissinen | Finland | 9.40 | 9.60 | 19.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 21 | Valery Ilyinykh | Soviet Union | 9.50 | 9.45 | 18.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 21 | Peter Weber | East Germany | 9.50 | 9.45 | 18.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 23 | Meinrad Berchtold | Switzerland | 9.45 | 9.45 | 18.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 23 | Sergey Diomidov | Soviet Union | 9.45 | 9.45 | 18.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 23 | Helmut Tepasse | West Germany | 9.45 | 9.45 | 18.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Giovanni Carminucci | Italy | 9.45 | 9.40 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Siegfried Fülle | East Germany | 9.40 | 9.45 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Willi Jaschek | West Germany | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Konrád Mentsik | Hungary | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 26 | Bohumil Mudřík | Czechoslovakia | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 31 | Georgi Adamov | Bulgaria | 9.35 | 9.45 | 18.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 31 | Dezső Bordán | Hungary | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 33 | Sándor Kiss | Hungary | 9.40 | 9.35 | 18.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 33 | Klaus Köste | East Germany | 9.45 | 9.30 | 18.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 35 | František Bočko | Czechoslovakia | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 35 | Christian Deuza | France | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 35 | Sylwester Kubica | Poland | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 35 | Peter Rohner | Switzerland | 9.30 | 9.40 | 18.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 39 | Janez Brodnik | Yugoslavia | 9.30 | 9.35 | 18.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 39 | Christer Jönsson | Sweden | 9.20 | 9.45 | 18.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 41 | Steve Cohen | United States | 9.10 | 9.50 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 41 | Viktor Lisitsky | Soviet Union | 9.60 | 9.00 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 41 | Fred Roethlisberger | United States | 9.10 | 9.50 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 41 | Václav Skoumal | Czechoslovakia | 9.30 | 9.30 | 18.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Andrzej Gonera | Poland | 9.05 | 9.50 | 18.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Béla Herczeg | Hungary | 9.25 | 9.30 | 18.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Paul Müller | Switzerland | 9.30 | 9.25 | 18.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 45 | Juhani Rahikainen | Finland | 9.30 | 9.25 | 18.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 49 | Chung-tae Kim | South Korea | 9.05 | 9.45 | 18.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 49 | Heiko Reinemer | West Germany | 9.20 | 9.30 | 18.50 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 51 | István Aranyos | Hungary | 9.25 | 9.20 | 18.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 51 | Günter Beier | East Germany | 9.10 | 9.35 | 18.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 51 | Luigi Cimnaghi | Italy | 9.30 | 9.15 | 18.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 51 | Steve Hug | United States | 9.05 | 9.40 | 18.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 55 | Pasquale Carminucci | Italy | 9.20 | 9.20 | 18.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 55 | Aleksander Rokosa | Poland | 9.15 | 9.25 | 18.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 57 | Edwin Greutmann | Switzerland | 9.10 | 9.25 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 57 | Bozhidar Ivanov | Bulgaria | 9.10 | 9.25 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 57 | Hannu Rantakari | Finland | 9.15 | 9.20 | 18.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 60 | Bruno Franceschetti | Italy | 9.15 | 9.15 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 60 | Heinz Häussler | West Germany | 9.20 | 9.10 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 60 | Hermann Höpfner | West Germany | 9.10 | 9.20 | 18.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 63 | Sid Freudenstein | United States | 8.85 | 9.40 | 18.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 63 | Miloš Vratič | Yugoslavia | 8.90 | 9.35 | 18.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 65 | Evert Lindgren | Sweden | 8.75 | 9.45 | 18.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 65 | Hans Peter Nielsen | Denmark | 9.00 | 9.20 | 18.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | Heikki Sappinen | Finland | 9.05 | 9.10 | 18.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 67 | Endre Tihanyi | Hungary | 9.10 | 9.05 | 18.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 69 | Jiří Fejtek | Czechoslovakia | 8.60 | 9.50 | 18.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 69 | Reino Heino | Finland | 9.00 | 9.10 | 18.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 69 | Jerzy Kruża | Poland | 8.95 | 9.15 | 18.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 72 | Gerhard Dietrich | East Germany | 8.70 | 9.35 | 18.05 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 73 | Dave Thor | United States | 8.70 | 9.30 | 18.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 74 | Rumen Gabrovski | Bulgaria | 8.95 | 9.00 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 74 | Finn Johannesson | Sweden | 8.95 | 9.00 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 74 | Mitsuo Tsukahara | Japan | 8.35 | 9.60 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 74 | Stefan Zoev | Bulgaria | 9.10 | 8.85 | 17.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 78 | Arne Thomsen | Denmark | 9.15 | 8.75 | 17.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 79 | Damir Anić | Yugoslavia | 8.85 | 9.00 | 17.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 79 | Ivan Kondev | Bulgaria | 8.85 | 9.00 | 17.85 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 81 | Michel Bouchonnet | France | 8.55 | 9.25 | 17.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 81 | Stan Wild | Great Britain | 9.10 | 8.70 | 17.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 83 | José González | Mexico | 9.00 | 8.70 | 17.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 83 | Roberto Pumpido | Cuba | 8.70 | 9.00 | 17.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Michael Booth | Great Britain | 8.70 | 8.95 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Raycho Khristov | Bulgaria | 8.50 | 9.15 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 85 | Rogelio Mendoza | Mexico | 8.90 | 8.75 | 17.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 88 | José Filipe Abreu | Portugal | 8.65 | 8.95 | 17.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 89 | Armando Valles | Mexico | 8.70 | 8.85 | 17.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 90 | Sid Jensen | Canada | 9.05 | 8.35 | 17.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 90 | Gilbert Larose | Canada | 8.20 | 9.20 | 17.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 90 | Tine Šrot | Yugoslavia | 8.20 | 9.20 | 17.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 93 | Vincenzo Mori | Italy | 8.95 | 8.40 | 17.35 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 94 | Erich Hess | West Germany | 8.85 | 8.45 | 17.30 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 95 | Luis Ramírez | Cuba | 8.55 | 8.65 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 95 | Octavio Suárez | Cuba | 8.00 | 9.20 | 17.20 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 97 | Steve Mitruk | Canada | 8.35 | 8.80 | 17.15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 98 | Jorge Rodríguez | Cuba | 8.95 | 8.15 | 17.10 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 99 | Davaanyam Zagdbazaryn | Mongolia | 8.50 | 8.50 | 17.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 100 | Enrique García | Mexico | 8.00 | 8.90 | 16.90 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 101 | Roger Dion | Canada | 7.70 | 9.10 | 16.80 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 102 | Kanati Allen | United States | 7.70 | 9.05 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 102 | Larbi Lazhari | Algeria | 9.00 | 7.75 | 16.75 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 104 | José Vilchis | Mexico | 8.00 | 8.70 | 16.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 105 | Sergio Luna | Ecuador | 7.70 | 8.95 | 16.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 106 | Fu Cheng | Taiwan | 8.55 | 8.05 | 16.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 107 | Héctor Ramírez | Cuba | 8.00 | 8.55 | 16.55 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 108 | Murray Chessell | Australia | 7.55 | 8.90 | 16.45 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 109 | Chu-Long Lai | Taiwan | 8.70 | 7.70 | 16.40 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 110 | Luis Navarrete | Cuba | 7.40 | 8.60 | 16.00 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 111 | Fernando Valles | Mexico | 7.20 | 8.45 | 15.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 112 | Barry Brooker | Canada | 7.20 | 8.05 | 15.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 113 | Pedro Rendón | Ecuador | 5.70 | 7.55 | 13.25 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 114 | Eduardo Nájera | Ecuador | 5.50 | 7.20 | 12.70 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 115 | Franco Menichelli | Italy | 9.60 | — | 9.60 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 116 | Ernesto Beren | Philippines | 6.65 | — | 6.65 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 117 | Norman Henson | Philippines | 4.95 | — | 4.95 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |