Zou Kai wins gold in second Olympics

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LONDON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Zou Kai of China won his second straight Olympic floor exercise gold medal Sunday, becoming only the second gymnast to do so.

Nikolai Andrianov won the title twice in a row for the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1976 and Zou matched that feat with a routine Sunday that was awarded with a score of 15.933.

Current world champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan finished second.

The first three of 10 individual apparatus gymnastics finals were held Sunday. The men's team from China and the squad from the United States won gold medals earlier in the Olympics. Gabby Douglas then became the third straight American to win the Olympic women's all-around title.

The bronze in the floor exercise event was won by Denis Ablyazin of Russia, who received the same overall score as Uchimura.

The score a gymnast receives for a routine is a total of awards for difficulty and execution. In the case of a tie, the higher execution score determines the winner and Uchimura's number in that category was higher than that of Ablyazin.

In the men's pommel horse, Krisztian Erki of Hungary won with a score of 16.066. That was the same score posted by Louis Smith of Britain, but Erki had the best number for execution.

Max Whitlock of Britain took the bronze.

Sandra Raluca Izbasa won the women's vault event, producing a score of 15.191 to defeat American McKayla Maroney.

Maroney fell on the landing of her second vault and still won the silver medal. The bronze went to Maria Paseka of Russia.