Daiki Hashimoto won his second straight men's all-around gold at the gymnastics world championships on Thursday, becoming only the fourth gymnast to achieve the feat.
The 22-year-old logged 86.132 points in total in the final in Antwerp as he became the first back-to-back champion since his compatriot Kohei Uchimura, who won six straight worlds all-around gold medals between 2009 and 2015.
"I'm relieved by the fact I could fight tenaciously through to the end. I was able to show my strength," the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist in the event said.
Illia Kovtun of Ukraine was runner-up with 84.998 and American Frederick Richard scored 84.332 to earn bronze. Japan's Kenta Chiba just missed the podium, scoring 83.464 to finish in fourth.
Third during the qualifying round, Hashimoto made a stuttering start in the final with a 13.466 in the floor exercise, 17th-best in the apparatus in the field of 24.
But he bounced back strongly, placing in the top three in each of the remaining five apparatuses including a 15,000 in the vault, the second-best score on the apparatus which he claimed "swung the momentum" in his favor.
The win was sealed after a solid 14.800 in the parallel bars and 14.500 in the horizontal bar, the latter the best score on the apparatus.
Albeit a different path to the title from last year in Liverpool, England, where he put together fine performances in all six apparatuses, Hashimoto feels overcoming the latest challenge will only make him stronger.
"It was a tough battle this time and I felt there are areas for improvement," he said. "I'll thrive on this experience and hope to make use of it for the Paris Olympics next summer."