With his medal hopes all but gone after he hit the judges’ table on his vault landing, Hamm performed two of the most spectacular routines of his career to win the men’s all-around gymnastics title by the closest Olympics margin ever.

“I’m happy right now. Shocked, actually,” he said. “To be in first place after that kind of mistake, I thought there was no chance to win.”

Hamm needed a 9.825 on the high bar, his best event, to tie Kim Dae-eun of South Korea for gold – and he was dazzling. The highlight of his routine are three straight release moves, and he did them perfectly yesterday to become the first U.S. man to win the event.

The reigning world champion from Waukesha, Wis., Hamm threw himself up and over the bar, catching it on the way down once, twice, and then a third time, soaring higher with each toss.

Hamm’s dismount was perfect, and he hit the mat with a solid thud before thrusting his fists into the air and throwing his head back in amazement. He waved at the roaring crowd and then sprinted off the podium clapping his hands while his coach, Miles Avery, jumped up and down on the sideline.

“I thought I could win silver, maybe bronze,” Hamm said. “I didn’t think I could win gold until Miles said, ‘You’re the Olympic champion,’ and all I could think to say was, ‘No way!’ “

Oh, yes. Hamm finished with 57.823 points, beating Kim by .012.The previous closest margin in the event was .017 by Leon Stukelj of Yugoslavia over Robert Prazak of Czechoslovakia in the 1924 Games.

As the world champion, Hamm was the clear favorite. And the gold medal appeared to be within his grasp when he took a .038 point lead over China’s Yang Wei, his biggest rival, halfway through the meet.

Vault is usually one of Hamm’s strongest events. He looked good when he hit the springboard and leapt forward, turning his body sideways before his hands hit the horse.

Springing backward, he did 1 1 /2 somersaults, but he didn’t get enough height on the twists and hit the mat in a crouch. He had no chance to stabilize himself, his left leg crossing over the right and sending him on a stumble.

The crowd gasped as Hamm fell off the mat, hitting the edge of the judges’ table before he plopped down, a stunned look on his face.

Hamm looked dazed when he saw his score of 9.137, which dropped him all the way to 12th place and more than a half-point behind Yang – an almost insurmountable deficit. He still had two events to go, but he had to be absolutely perfect and hope that one of the gymnasts in front of him would make a mistake.

Hamm’s score in the next event, also a 9.837, was the highest on the parallel bars, moving him up in the standings. But he needed help, and he got it as, one by one, his competition fell away.

Then came the final event. Jerking back on the bar as if to get as much power as he could, Hamm began his release moves, blind throws more than 10 feet in the air that some acrobats wouldn’t try. When his score of 9.837 flashed on the scoreboard, the arena went into a frenzy.