The men's parallel bars event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was one of seven gymnastics events for men and it was contested for the fourth time after 1896, 1904, and 1924. The competition was held on Thursday, August 9, 1928. Eighty-five gymnasts from eleven nations competed, with each nation having a team of up to 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Ladislav Vácha of Czechoslovakia, the nation's first victory in the men's parallel bars. The silver medal went to Josip Primožič of Yugoslavia, with Hermann Hänggi of Switzerland earning bronze.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the event, which is one of the five apparatus events held every time there were apparatus events at the Summer Olympics (no apparatus events were held in 1900, 1908, 1912, or 1920). Four of the top 10 gymnasts from 1924 returned: gold medalist August Güttinger of Switzerland, fifth-place finisher Mario Lertora of Italy, sixth-place finisher Ladislav Vácha of Czechoslovakia, and eighth-place finisher Bedřich Šupčík of Czechoslovakia. Vácha had won the 1926 world championship as well, and was favored going into the competition.

The Netherlands made its debut in the men's parallel bars. Hungary competed for the first time since 1896. The other nine nations had all competed in 1924. France, Switzerland, and the United States each made their third appearance, tied for most of any nation.

Competition format

Each gymnast performed a compulsory exercise and a voluntary exercise. The maximum score for each exercise was 30 points. The parallel bars was one of the apparatus used in the individual and team all-around scores. It accounted for of the score.Official Report, p. 646.

Schedule

Date Time Round Thursday, 9 August 1928 Final

Results

Rank Gymnast Nation Total Ladislav Vácha 56.50 Josip Primožič 55.50 Hermann Hänggi 54.25 4 Jan Gajdoš 53.75 Bedřich Šupčík 53.75 André Lemoine 53.75 7 Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 53.50 Leon Štukelj 53.50 Melchior Wezel 53.50 Mario Lertora 53.50 11 Hans Grieder 53.25 12 Romeo Neri 53.00 Armand Solbach 53.00 14 Emanuel Löffler 52.50 15 Josef Effenberger 52.25 Georges Leroux 52.25 17 Heikki Savolainen 51.75 István Pelle 51.75 19 Anton Malej 51.25 Edi Steinemann 51.25 21 Jan Koutný 51.00 Eugen Mack 51.00 Martti Uosikkinen 51.00 24 Ladislav Tikal 50.50 25 Janez Porenta 50.25 Václav Veselý 50.25 Al Jochim 50.25 28 Otto Pfister 50.00 August Güttinger 50.00 30 Vittorio Lucchetti 49.75 Georges Miez 49.75 32 Jaakko Kunnas 49.50 33 Rezső Kende 49.00 34 Giuseppe Lupi 48.50 Boris Gregorka 48.50 36 Jean Larrouy 48.25 37 Mathias Logelin 48.00 38 Edvard Antonijevič 47.50 39 John Pearson 47.00 40 Urho Korhonen 46.75 41 Étienne Schmitt 46.50 Frank Haubold 46.50 Glenn Berry 46.50 44 Stane Derganc 46.25 45 Ferdinando Mandrini 46.00 46 Herman Witzig 45.25 47 Dragutin Cioti 44.75 48 Frank Kriz 44.50 49 Birger Stenman 43.75 Kalervo Kinos 43.75 51 Jean Gounot 42.75 Pieter van Dam 42.75 53 József Szalai 42.50 Géza Tóth 42.50 55 André Chatelain 42.00 Mozes Jacobs 42.00 57 Harold Newhart 41.75 58 Mario Tambini 41.50 59 Fränz Zouang 40.25 60 Nic Roeser 40.00 61 Willibrordus Pouw 39.25 62 Paul Krempel 39.00 63 Arthur Whitford 38.50 64 Mathias Erang 38.25 Elias Melkman 38.25 66 Klaas Boot 37.25 67 Albert Neumann 36.25 68 Edouard Grethen 36.00 Jean-Pierre Urbing 36.00 70 Elemér Pászti 35.75 71 Israel Wijnschenk 34.75 72 Josy Staudt 34.25 Gyula Kunszt 34.25 74 Rafael Ylönen 34.00 75 Ezio Roselli 33.75 76 Giuseppe Paris 32.75 77 T. B. Parkinson 32.50 78 Jacobus van der Vinden 31.50 79 Bart Cronin 30.50 80 Henry Finchett 29.75 81 E. A. Walton 28.50 82 G. C. Raynes 27.25 83 E. W. Warren 22.75 84 Hugo Licher 21.50 85 Miklós Péter 11.00

References

Olympic Report