Colombian gymnast Angel Barajas finished fifth in the men’s all-around final at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Oct. 22, missing a medal by just 0.299 points. His total of 83.232 secured Colombia’s best-ever result in the event, improving on the sixth place he achieved at the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta.
Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto won gold with 85.998 points, China’s Yang Haonan claimed silver with 84.199, and Britain’s Joe Fraser took bronze with 83.531. Russian gymnast Daniel Marinov finished fourth with 83.297, just 0.065 points ahead of Barajas.
The 20-year-old from Cucuta entered the final after qualifying ninth with 82.831 points. He maintained a competitive level across all six apparatuses, recording his highest score on the parallel bars and finishing among the leading gymnasts in several events.
The result adds another major achievement to Barajas’ career. He won silver on the horizontal bar at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and has now recorded consecutive top-six finishes in the men’s all-around at the World Championships.
Barajas delivers a consistent all-around performance
Barajas scored 13.800 points on the pommel horse, 13.100 on the rings and 14.100 on vault. His 14.333 on the parallel bars was his highest score of the final, followed by 14.066 on the horizontal bar and 13.833 on floor exercise.
His horizontal bar performance was particularly encouraging ahead of the individual apparatus final scheduled for Oct. 25. Barajas qualified fifth with 14.333 points, putting him in contention for another world championship medal.
His fifth-place finish reflected his ability to sustain competitive scores across the six disciplines. He scored at least 13.800 points on five apparatuses, with the rings his lowest-scoring event.
The narrow margin separating him from the podium illustrates the demands of all-around competition, in which gymnasts must combine strength, balance, precision and execution across six apparatuses. Fraser’s bronze medal came less than three-tenths of a point ahead of the Colombian.
Hashimoto, meanwhile, extended his dominance in the discipline by winning his fourth consecutive world all-around title. The Japanese gymnast finished 1.799 points ahead of Yang, while Fraser secured his first world all-around medal.
Camilo Vera loses ground after two falls
Colombia’s other finalist, Camilo Vera, finished 24th with 73.899 points after two falls disrupted the second half of his competition. He had qualified 10th with 82.764 points and initially remained competitive, ranking among the top 10 after three rotations.
Vera scored 13.233 points on the rings, 14.000 on vault and 13.933 on the parallel bars during the first half of the final. Those results brought his cumulative score to 41.166 and placed him eighth at that stage.
His position deteriorated after a fall on the horizontal bar, where he received 11.700 points. A second fall on floor exercise resulted in a score of 9.833, effectively ending his chances of recovering ground in the final rotations.
Vera’s final total was nearly nine points below his qualifying score. His other apparatus result included 11.200 on the pommel horse, while the two falls on the horizontal bar and floor proved costly in a competition decided by the combined scores from all six events.
Despite the setback, Vera’s qualification for the all-around final marked an important opportunity to compete among the world’s leading gymnasts. He also secured a place in the individual horizontal bar final, qualifying seventh with 14.166 points.
Colombia has another medal opportunity in Rotterdam
The World Championships continue through Oct. 25, with both Barajas and Vera scheduled to compete in the men’s horizontal bar final. Their qualification positions give Colombia two representatives in the medal event.
Barajas arrives with the stronger all-around result and the experience of his Olympic silver medal in Paris. Vera, meanwhile, will have the chance to respond after a difficult conclusion to the all-around final.
Neither gymnast secured an all-around medal in Rotterdam, but Barajas’ fifth place established a new Colombian benchmark in the event. The upcoming apparatus final offers both athletes another opportunity to turn their performances into a podium finish.