Zonderland Wins Netherlands' First Men's Gymnastics Gold

Epke Zonderland, known as the Flying Dutchman, wowed the crowd and easily won Olympic gold in the men's high bar. (Thomas Coex) 

Gymnastics is one of many ever-changing sports in the Olympics. As athletes continue to get stronger and the routines get bigger and bigger, what is necessary to win gold has evolved as well. Men's high bar is an excellent example of this. A number of rule changes have allowed gymnasts to perform bigger moves that are higher risk. But with the risk, there is definitely great reward.

With news of these new routines coming to light, many people gathered to see what was in store for this Summer Olympics. One of the first gymnasts to compete in the high bar was American star Danell Leyva. He competently performed a routine that was scored a 7.2 difficulty level. In years past, that would had been Olympic gold worthy. However, the crowd knew that we were just getting warmed up in the North Greenwich Arena.

The reigning Olympic and world champion Zou Kai of China was expected to be the favorite to repeat. His solid routine of a 7.9 difficulty left many thinking that it was all over. Then, Fabian Hambüchen of Germany took center stage. His impressive performance from start to finish catapulted him into first. After Hambüchen finished, he let out a yell in exclamation. What he didn't know was that his time in first place was short lived.

The next gymnast to perform was Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands. He is known as the Flying Dutchman for his willingness to fling his body through the air throughout his daredevil routines. Zonderland has been considered to be one of the world's best on high bar, but what was missing from his resume was that he had never won an Olympic medal.

Zonderland opened his routine with three straight release moves that had absolutely no pause in between them. He was a blur throughout as he flew higher and higher. As the Flying Dutchman finally landed, he let out a roar as the crowd cheered. His performance was so incredible that it has been described as "unprecedented." The judges rewarded Zonderland with a score of 16.533, a number so high that it is rarely seen outside of vault. The next gymnast, American Jonathan Horton, simply laughed and shook his head. He knew that neither him nor anyone else could hope to match or exceed Zonderland's incredible mark.

What makes the performance even more special for Zonderland is what it means to his country. His gold medal is their first ever in men's artistic gymnastics and only their second overall. Their other was a women's team gold way back in 1928. Zonderland told reporters, "It's unique to be in a Olympic final if you're a Dutch gymnast, but winning the gold is bizarre. I worked so long to achieve a result like this. This is amazing." The Flying Dutchman put an aerial display that won't soon be forgotten because of the majesty and power that he displayed throughout his performance.