Mizuki Saito won the men's individual title in Incheon ©FIG

Mizuki Saito became the first Japanese man to earn an International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Aerobic World Championships after triumphing in the men’s individual event in Incheon, South Korea.

The Japanese star was looking to mark only his second appearance at the World Championships with a medal and delivered a promising display in qualifying, with only Hungary’s Daniel Bali achieving a higher score.

While his artistry and execution scores were lower than Bali’s in the final, Saito’s higher difficulty ultimately earned him the gold, as he ended with a total of 22.425.

Bali scored a total of 22.300 to claim silver, while 22.200 was enough for the 2014 world champion Ivan Veloz of Mexico to secure the bronze medal.

Romania’s Oana Corina Constantin triumphed in the women’s individual event with a score of 22.050, with China’s Yu Yangyang and France’s Aurelie Joly completing the podium positions after the judges awarded them scores of 21.750 and 21.325 respectively.

Michela Castoldi and Davide Donati claimed the mixed pair title for Italian, after being rewarded for a strong display in the final with a score of 21.150.

Bali was forced to settle for his second silver medal of the Championships with the Hungarian scoring 21.125 alongside Dora Hegyi, while China’s Yu Yangyang and Hua Feiyang secured bronze on 21.100.

China would ultimately finish top of the medals table after they awarded the team title, ahead of Romania and South Korea, with the result determined by athletes’ rankings from the qualification rounds.

Hosts South Korea finished second on the medals table behind China
Hosts South Korea finished second on the medals table behind China ©FIG

The Chinese team were then triumphant in the group competition by scoring 21.944, with Italy finishing in second place on 21.094.

Romania scored 20.994 to complete the podium.

Hosts South Korea were the only other nation to claim two gold medals, with their first success coming in the aerobic dance event, where they scored 19.650 to hold off the challenge of China and Russia.

Ryu Jusun, Kim Hanjin and Go Kyungmin then won the trio competition, after they were awarded 21.750 by the judges, with Japan and Russia earning the minor medals on 21.638 and 21.022 respectively.

France won the final gold medal of the Championships with their tally of 18.250 proving just enough to win the aerobic step competition ahead of China, who ended on 18.200.

The podium was completed by Mongolia, after they scored 17.900.