Gymnastics runs deep in Kohei Uchimura’s blood: his parents trained in the sport, and his sister is also a tumbler. A three-time world champion in the all-around event—the only male gymnast to accomplish that feat—Uchimura will lead a resurgent Japanese men’s gymnastics squad determined to beat out China and the U.S. for the Olympic team gold. In Beijing, as a mere 19-year-old, Uchimura won silver in the all-around event. His team also settled for second, behind China. Since then, Uchimura, now 23, has been dubbed the greatest male gymnast ever by some of his rivals.