Japan captured the men's Olympic team all-around gymnastic gold medal it craved after pulling away from the competition in imperious fashion at the Rio Games on Monday.

The team of Kohei Uchimura, Ryohei Kato, Yusuke Tanaka, Kenzo Shirai and Koji Yamamuro started slowly at Rio Olympic Arena but gradually reeled in leader Russia before moving into first place by the finest of margins going into the final rotation.

A stunning floor performance by Olympic debutant Shirai then gave Japan breathing space ahead of nearest rivals Russia and China, and a final score of 274.094 confirmed Japan's win and a first Olympic team gold since the 2004 Athens Games.