'Sexy Alexei' beats injury, and the field

Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov recaptured his best form on Wednesday after years of struggling to win the men's gymnastics all-round title at the Sydney Olympics.

Until Sydney he had rarely shown the brilliance that earned him the Olympic all-around silver medal and vault title at 1996 Atlanta Games.

Many involved in the sport, including Russian programme director Leonid Arkaev, had written off Nemov as recently as May when it came to his chances of winning the 2000 Olympic all-around title.

Since 1996, Nemov had bungled more often than not in major competitions and seemed to care more about having a good time out of the gym than focusing on his training.

Perhaps he was just waiting until the moment really mattered to him.

The 24-year-old proved on Wednesday that he is as strong a talent as ever when he won the men's all-around title at the Olympic SuperDome.

"I realised at some point, in July, that I could win either silver or gold," Nemov said.

"Everything helped me, and another thing is now I have a son. That was motivation for me. I did my best for Russia, for my family and for my loved one."

Nemov, who won five medals in Atlanta, totalled 58.474 to win the all-around gold against competition from China's Yang Wei, with 58.361, and Ukraine's Alexander Beresch, with 58.212.

Double world champion Ivan Ivankov of Belarus was fourth with 58.024.

Nemov has undergone many changes since May when he botched the all-around at the 2000 European Championships in Germany and earned angry words from an exasperated Arkaev.

He got married in June to wife Galina, who gave birth to their first child on September 2.

The changes may have brought out some maturity in Nemov. When Russia took the floor in Olympic team preliminaries on September 16, Nemov was the one who stayed the pace as his teammates made critical errors.

His anchor role kept Russia ahead of Ukraine for the team silver medal, while China won the team gold.

Arkaev expressed doubt after the team final that Nemov would be able to continue at the same level in the all-around competition.

Nemov, who has said he plans to continue gymnastics for four more years, not only proved Arkaev wrong by taking the all-around but has also qualified for five of six event finals.

"I always try to do my very best. Maybe sometimes people do not believe that,"' Nemov said.

"But sometimes I have had injuries, to my shoulder, to my back. Today I am healthy and I wanted to show that I can still be the best."

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