45th MEN' EUROPEANS of ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

After 2020 (Mersin), the up-and-coming Turkish Gymnastics Federation is hosting the European Gymnastics Championships for the 2nd time, which this year have a special qualification character. At this 45th European Men's Gymnastics Championships 2023, 13 European team places are at stake for the World Championships in Antwerp in September, where the 12 nations competing for the team tickets for the Olympic Games in Paris in 20214 will then be at stake. In the men's competition, the last three European nations with the best rankings are qualified for the World Championships in Liverpool (Great Britain, Italy and Spain), so that in the end there will be another 10 World Championships starting places at stake in Antalya. The postulated goal of TurnTeam Germany is the "top eight", a task that is by no means to be solved easily ...:
* Turkish dreams came true on the 2nd day of the men's competition!
After silver and bronze in 2022, bronze medallist from Munich Adem ASIL was crowned Turkey's first European champion today.
With 84.965 points he relegated Britain's Jake JARMAN (83.463) to silver. An unbelievable comeback of the outstanding best gymnast of the preliminaries, Illia KOVTUN (UKR), who fell far behind after a weak routine on horse and a fall on vault, led to the bronze medal after the best performance of the day on parallel bars (15.433) and the highest score on high bar (14.033).
Home favourite Adem Asil (TUR) won the bronze medallist last year in Munich 2022 and look prepared and focused from the start. Excelling on rings where he scored 15.033 and on vault with 15.100, Asil went into the last rotation as the clear leader. He nailed his high bar routine, totalling 84.965. When this final score flashed, the party quite literally erupted on the Field of Play.
* The first ever European all-around title for Asil, and the first all-around victory for the Turkish men. With Ahmet Onder’s silver last year, they now even have a full set of all-around medals at the European level.
* For the Swiss it may seem like a miracle, but with Noe SEIFERT on 5^th place and Florian LANGENEGGER on 7^th place two Swiss reached the top ten, which is also a historical novelty!!!
* On Sunday, April 16 the ECh will end with the last three apparus finale ...:

♦♦ 45^th MEN's EUROPEANS of ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS
      (Antalya / TUR, 2023 April 11 - 16)

* T E A M S - :  Great Britain (3rd), Italy (4th) and Spain (6th) were Europe's top-ranked nations for the 2022 Worlds in Liverpool. Germany only followed in 9th place, ahead of Turkey (11th - now hosts!), Hungary, the Netherlands and Belgium. This time, the fight for the European tickets will be the first and major suspense of these title fights, because in the still young, because shortened Olympic cycle, there have also been some personnel and interesting rejuvenation processes in the meantime. Russia and Belarus remain sanctioned and thus so far excluded for Olympia '24 ...

* In the ALL-AROUND competition Joe Fraser (R`GBR) shone in Munich at the European Championships ahead of the two Turks Ahmet ONDER and Adem ASIL. It makes little sense to make predictions here, as there have been few usable all-around comparisons recently. In any case, there will be a new European gymnastics king, because neither the defending champion Joe FRASER will be there, nor the previous 2-time Russian champion Nikita Nagorniy (suspended), nor the previous dominant 2-time European champion Oleg Wernjajew, who will not compete again after his doping ban has been lifted.
* And as far as the apparatus ambitions are concerned: The current form of the day will certainly decide. Many variations are possible, certainly also many surprises ...!

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♦ Chronological Event coverages ...

* Thursday,  April 13

♦♦  ECh MEN's ALL-AROUND FINAL

* An outstanding Illia KOVTUN (UKR), who already won bronze in Basel in 202), convincingly won the role of favourite for the final with 85.432 preliminaries points, almost looked like an indomitable winner, pursued by last year's third-placed Turkish Adem ASIL with home advantage and by Great Britain's Jake JARMAN. Behind Artur Davtyan (ARM) and Casimir Schmidt (NED), the only 19-year-old European Championship debutant from Wetzlar, Pascal Brendel (81.732), is also excellently placed in sixth place, a position that no German gymnast has been able to achieve for 12 years. Today's final should show whether the young man can confirm this at his European Championship debut ...!
* At first it went as described, but when Kovtun only performed his handstand dismount on the horse in the second round with obviously excessive effort and received 12.966 points, almost 1.5 points less than in the preliminaries, and in the third round on the vault he even put his Kasamatsu with 11/2 screws on the seat of his trousers, all medal dreams for the young Ukrainian seemed to be shattered. Adem ASIL, who as World Champion on still rings also had the highest score (15.033), was far ahead and also shone on vault with a bent double somersault forward + 1 1/2 turn ("Dragulescu") and Jake JARMAN also had the highest score of the day (15.266) for his Kasamatsu with 2 1/2 turns (!).
But with nerves of steel the Ukrainian Kovtun  then countered on parallel bars and received 15.433 points for the most difficult routine of the competition (D-6.6) and just as nervy the young man performed his programme on high bar (5.7) and received the only 14's score of the competition... and the small miracle happened: still bronze for Illia KOVTUN, as already in 2021 in Basel. A dramatic, exciting but fair final, with the confirmation that only mastered difficulties lead to glory. And that is what his fellow competitors in the ranks in front of him offered today.

♦♦  ECh MEN' s ALL-AROUND Results

1. ASIL Adem                   (TUR) - 84,965
2. JARMAN Jake              (GBR) - 83,463
3. KOVTUN Illia               (UKR) - 83,032

      4. DAVTYAN Artur             (ARM) - 82,665
      5. SEIFERT Noe                 (SUI) - 82,662
      6. ABBADINI Yumin              (ITA) - 82,164
      7. LANGENEGGER, Florian  (SUI) - 81,865
      8. BRENDEL Pascal           (GER) - 81,164
      9. CASALI Lorenzo Minh        (ITA) - 81,132
    10. DIALLO, Thierno              (ESP) - 79,899
         ►► Detailed Results

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♦ Individual All-around (Final qualification)
1. KOVTUN, Ilia         (UKR) - 85,432;  2. ASIL, Adem  (TUR) - 83,665;
3. JARMAN, Jake      (GBR) - 83,098;  4. DAVTYAN, Artur (ARM) - 82,465;
5. SCHMIDT, Casimir (NED) - 81,932;  6. BRENDEL, Pascale  (GER) - 81,732
    ► Detailed Results

♦ Apparatus Results & Final qualifiers
 ► Floor exerc; ► Pommel horse; ► Still rings; ► Vault; ► Parallel bars;  ► High bar
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* Saturday, April 15/16

♦ ♦ MEN's APP.  F I N A L

F L O O R  E X E R C I S E S ---.
The afternoon started on floor where British rising star Luke Whitehouse opened his routine with an excellent triple back. His 6.5 difficulty score was the highest of all competitors with his execution second only to Artem Dolgopyat.
In his senior Europeans debut, 20-year-old Whitehouse managed to beat the reigning Olympic Champion. Quite an impressive feat!  Germany’s Milan Hosseini and top qualifier Harry Hepworth (GBR) both scored 14.200 in the battle for bronze. This tie was broken based on the highest execution score, securing the first European medal for Hosseini.
* Results, Floor    (> Start list)
 1. WHITEHOUSE Luke  (GBR) - (6.5) =14,900
 2. DOLGOPYAT Artem     (ISR) - (6.1) =14,666
 3. HOSSEINI Milan        (GER) - (5.9) =14,200
        ► Detailed Results
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P O M M E L  H O R S E ---:    (> Start list)
World Champion Rhys McClenaghan (IRL) performed first in the pommel horse, setting the standard for other to try and beat. Belgium’s Maxime Gentges came close, besting the Irish superstar in execution by a tenth. As his difficulty score was 2 tenths lower, McClenaghan regained the title he won in Glasgow in 2018. Tears of joy for Gentges though as he earned the silver medal, Belgium’s first ever medal in the men’s competition. Artur Davtyan and Loran De Munck went head-to-head for bronze, both posting a 14.266. Again, the highest execution decided the tie breaker. Bronze for Armenia’s Davtyan and fourth place for last year’s Vice-European Champion Loran De Munck.
* Results, Pommel   (> Start list)
  1. MC CLENAGHAN, Rhys   (IRL) - (6.4) =14,666
  2. GENTGES Maxime        (BEL) - (6,2) =14,566
  3. DAVTYAN Artur            (ARM) - (5.7) =14,266
         ► Detailed Results

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S T I L L  R I N G S ---:   (> Start list)
On rings, all 8 finallists performed difficult routines, ranging from 6.0 to 6.3, leaving little room for error. Fresh of a stunning all-around victory, Adem Asil continued his winning streak, this time on the apparatus where he is the reigning World Champion. Armenia’s Vahagn Davtyan and defending Champion Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) posted 14.733, with, you guesses it, the execution score determining the ultimate ranking. Silver for Davtyan and bronze for Petrounias.
* Results Rings     (> Start list)
 1. ASIL Adem                        (TUR) - (6.3) =14,933
 2. DAVTYAN Vahagn             (ARM) - (6.0) =14,733
 3. PETROUNIAS, Eleftherios (GRE) - (6.3) =14,733
        ► Detailed Results

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