Zou Jingyuan of China successfully defended his Olympic title in parallel bars at the Paris Games, achieving a remarkable score of 16.200, the highest in artistic gymnastics at these Games. This victory marked Zou's third medal in Paris, following a silver in rings and a silver in the team event where China finished second behind Japan. Illia Kovtun of Ukraine earned silver with a score of 15.500, while Japan's Shinnosuke Oka took bronze. Zou's flawless routine made him the first man since Sawao Kato in 1976 to defend an Olympic title on parallel bars. Later on the same day, a final opportunity for China to secure another gold was available in the men's horizontal bar competition, following Zhang Boheng's top qualifying score.