The Japan Olympic men’s gymnastics team is set, and it is one of the greatest of all time.
Led by Kohei Uchimura, four of the five men have won World Championships all-around medals.
The Japanese men return four of the five men from the 2012 Olympics, where they controversially took silver, after a scoring change on Uchimura’s flawed final pommel horse routine bumped them up from fourth.
Japan seeks its first Olympic team title since 2004, the biggest prize missing from Uchimura’s trophy case. Four of the five Olympic team members helped Japan last year to its first World team title since 1978.
Uchimura, who has won a record seven Olympic or World all-around titles, is set for his third Olympics. He can become the first gymnast to repeat as Olympic all-around champion since countryman Kawao Sato in 1968 and 1972.
Uchimura will be joined in Rio by London Olympic teammates Koji Yamamuro (2011 World all-around bronze medalist), Ryohei Kato (2013 World all-around silver medalist) and Yusuke Tanaka (2014 World all-around bronze medalist).
The newcomer is 19-year-old Kenzo Shirai, the 2013 and 2015 World champion on floor exercise.
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