Ivan Ivankov was all set to make history in the early evening of November 1. If he managed to take the gold medal in the all-around, her would become the first gymnast in history to win this coveted title three times. He would have added the Ghent gold to the ones won in Lausanne in 1997 and Brisbane in 1994. It wasn't going to happen. Ivankov, the undisputed star of the competition, was relegated to second behind an unknown Chinese.

Problems on pommel horse had cost Ivankov early in the competition but when he nailed his high bar routine as the final gymnast of the night, the audience thought he had won it. When his name only appeared in second place on the scoreboard, there were whistles and boos from the crowd. Ivankov was more gracious in defeat: "Before this competition a lot of people were saying that that this was only a young Chinese team, just boys. But I was saying "C'mon people, this doesn't mean they're not good. They just don't have enough experience". This is what Feng Jing showed today."

Before his individual success, Ivankov had shared the glory of Belarus' first team gold with his team. He is aware of his role as the team's leader where his duties are largely psychological: "I just try to help them to concentrate. They try to do too much in warm ups. I'm telling them not to waste their energy on warm ups. I said to them : "Be quiet, just relax. You don't need so much practice today. I remember I was young, I did the same."

Despite not winning the all-around gold, he was still contented: You work hard for every medal whether it's silver or bronze", he said and then adding with a laugh: "Of course, gold is gold." He might not have even taken silver but for Sean Townsend's disaster on high bar. In the lead after the fifth rotation, Townsend fell twice. He was followed by Paul Hamm, lying in third position after rotation number five, who also fell from high bar. "It was so bad for the guys from the States. Maybe they were already thinking about medals, so they made mistakes. They are both very good gymnasts. They did everything to win, they were just unlucky. "

Ivankov for one knows the meaning of the word unlucky. A hot favourite for the gold at the 1996 Olympics, his Achilles tendon snapped just days before the Games began. He was forced to withdraw from the all-around competition at the 1999 World Championships with an injury. After clawing his way back in 2000, still hampered by foot problems, he left Sydney with no medal. But where others would have given up, he persevered - and says he will continue to do so until the next Olympics roll round. Will he be shooting for the gold? "Of course. I 'm always going for the gold."