The men's pommel horse 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 Wednesday, August 8, 1928. Eighty-eight gymnasts from eleven nations competed, with each nation having a team of 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Hermann Hänggi of Switzerland, the nation's second consecutive (and third overall) victory in the pommel horse. The Swiss nearly repeated their 1924 medal sweep, with 4 of the top 5, but Finland's Heikki Savolainen took bronze between silver medalist Georges Miez and fourth-place finisher Edi Steinemann. It was Finland's first medal in the event.
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: fifth-place finisher Giuseppe Paris of Italy, sixth-place finisher Stane Derganc of Yugoslavia, eighth-place finisher August Güttinger of Switzerland, and tenth-place finisher Leon Štukelj of Yugoslavia. The reigning (1926) world champion, Jan Karafiat of Czechoslovakia, did not compete, but the second- and third-place finishers at the world championships, Jan Gajdos and Ladislav Vácha (both also of Czechoslovakia), did.
The Netherlands made its debut in the men's pommel horse. Hungary competed for the first time since 1896. The other nine nations had all competed in 1924. Switzerland and the United States were each making 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 pommel horse 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 Wednesday, 8 August 1928 Final
Results
Rank Gymnast Nation Total Hermann Hänggi 59.25 Georges Miez 57.75 Heikki Savolainen 56.50 4 Edi Steinemann 56.00 5 August Güttinger 55.75 6 Georges Leroux 54.75 7 Mauri Nyberg-Noroma 54.50 Melchior Wezel 54.50 9 Eugen Mack 54.25 10 Jan Gajdoš 54.00 Josef Effenberger 54.00 12 Leon Štukelj 53.25 Otto Pfister 53.25 14 Armand Solbach 53.00 15 Anton Malej 52.50 Jean Larrouy 52.50 17 Emanuel Löffler 52.00 18 Josip Primožič 51.75 19 Bedřich Šupčík 51.50 Romeo Neri 51.50 21 Janez Porenta 51.25 Mozes Jacobs 51.25 23 István Pelle 51.00 24 Jean Gounot 50.75 Vittorio Lucchetti 50.75 26 Giuseppe Lupi 50.50 John Pearson 50.50 28 Ferdinando Mandrini 50.25 Hans Grieder 50.25 30 Frank Haubold 50.00 31 Mario Lertora 49.50 Martti Uosikkinen 49.50 33 Alfred Krauss 49.00 34 Étienne Schmitt 48.75 Stane Derganc 48.75 36 Edvard Antonijevič 48.50 37 Giuseppe Paris 48.25 Harold Newhart 48.25 39 Miklós Péter 48.00 Nic Roeser 48.00 41 André Lemoine 47.75 Boris Gregorka 47.75 43 Frank Kriz 47.50 44 Paul Krempel 47.25 45 Ladislav Vácha 47.00 46 Mario Tambini 46.75 47 Václav Veselý 46.50 48 Al Jochim 45.75 49 Ladislav Tikal 45.50 50 Ezio Roselli 45.25 51 Dragutin Cioti 44.75 Fränz Zouang 44.75 53 Glenn Berry 44.50 54 Israel Wijnschenk 44.50 55 Herman Witzig 43.50 56 Jan Koutný 42.75 57 Jaakko Kunnas 42.25 Bart Cronin 42.25 59 Pieter van Dam 41.25 60 Henry Finchett 40.75 61 Hugo Licher 40.50 62 Géza Tóth 40.25 Mathias Logelin 40.25 64 Jean-Pierre Urbing 40.00 65 Edouard Grethen 38.75 Ted Warren 38.75 Elias Melkman 38.75 68 Antoine Chatelaine 38.00 Arthur Whitford 38.00 70 Willibrordus Pouw 37.50 71 Urho Korhonen 36.75 72 Rafael Ylönen 35.00 73 Gyula Kunszt 34.00 Samuel Humphreys 34.00 75 G. C. Raynes 33.75 76 T. B. Parkinson 33.50 77 Klaas Boot 33.00 78 Jacobus van der Vinden 32.00 79 Mathias Erang 31.75 80 E. A. Walton 30.50 81 József Szalai 30.00 82 Elemér Pászti 29.75 83 Josy Staudt 29.25 84 Rezső Kende 28.50 85 Kalervo Kinos 27.00 86 Albert Neumann 21.00 87 Birger Stenman 20.25 — Imre Erdődy
References
Olympic Report sports-reference