Uchimura has been untouchable since winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics and, if his performance at the worlds is any preview, he'll move up to gold next summer in London.
"Of course I'm happy," Uchimura said. "I didn't mind the scores. I was only focused on my performance and doing the best performance I could do." Uchimura had the lead after two events, leaving everyone else fighting for silver and bronze. Uchimura finished with 93.631 points, more than three points ahead of Germany's Philipp Boy. Koji Yamamuro, Uchimura's training partner, won the bronze.
"Three times in a row, this is history. Congratulations," Boy said, shaking his head in wonder. "I can't say anything more about it." Uchimura had his third straight world title wrapped up at the halfway point, making high bar, his final routine, the start of his victory celebration.
The crowd roared with each release move, and fans were on their feet even before his hit the landing mat. As Uchimura looked skyward and threw his arms in the air, the fans let out such a big roar it nearly lifted the roof of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
"It was almost like a show," said American gymnast John Orozco, who had a front-row seat for it, competing in the same rotation with Uchimura. "Incredible. Amazing. I can't even find the words to describe him."
Uchimura has become something of a rock star in Japan, and he said before worlds began that he hoped his performances could be a boost for his country. It's been seven months since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan, and the country still bears the physical and emotional scars. Like most gymnasts, Uchimura wore a patch on his uniform asking people to support the relief effort.
But on this night, he was practically perfect.
Uchimura is, without question, the finest gymnast of his generation. Maybe of any generation.
Not only has he not been beaten since the Beijing Olympics, no one's come close. He's so far in front of the pack he was atop the standings after just two events, ahead of even the gymnasts who'd gone on vault, which artificially inflates scores. By the time Uchimura got to vault, he led by almost six-tenths of a point.
"At the moment, I think nobody can beat Kohei Uchimura," said Boy, who said last week that he thought he'd been born in the "wrong age." He's a very special gymnast. Everything what he is doing, it looks beautiful and he makes no mistakes. He's really kind of a machine. It's amazing." Japan came up short in the team competition, finishing with a silver after some uncharacteristic mistakes by Uchimura.
On this night, however, he was practically perfect.
"That's what everyone will talk about, but I don't think about that," Uchimura said when asked if he is the best ever.