ECh Sofia - Review of the senior event finals

Senior team finals review

The senior event finals are held on the last day of the 30th Women’s European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The finals are planned in Olympic order: vault - uneven bars - beam - floor exercise. Like in the junior competition, Russia and Great Britain won the most medals.

First score on vault was set by Giulia Steingruber (SUI). The defending European champion on this apparatus performed a handspring layout with 1,5 twists, she’s the only gymnast in this tournament performing that vault, and how! Her second vault is only a mainstream full twisting Yurchenko, but with the highest execution score of the final (9,133)!  Larissa Iordache (ROU) can follow her country mate Sandra Izbasa towards a  European gold. Yurchenko with double twist and tsukahara with full twist only leads to the bronze medal. With one gymnast to go, Ana Pavlova (AZE) knows it’s her time to shine. The former Russian gymnast has a reputation on vault and sticks her double twisting Yurchenko vault. Her second vault is a roundoff half on, half off… The crowd raised because her score was high enough to get the silver medal!

Senior vault results

1. Steingruber (SUI) 14,666 (15,200-14,133)

2. Pavlova (AZE) 14,583 (14,766-14,400)

3. Iordache (ROU) 14,533 (14,866-14,200)

The final on uneven bars was one to remember forever! Surprisingly Iordache (ROU) qualified for this final, although bars is not her best apparatus, it proves her level of gymnastics. She became sixth. Tunney (GBR) is the first one to set a score to beat, with an exercise that reminds us of Elisabeth Tweddle. After her, Spiridonova (RUS) brings a very difficult exercise to a good end, she shows good vertical handstand lines each time. Bui (GER) and Popa (ESP) can’t do any better. 

Aliya Mustafina (RUS) has a certain reputation on bars and showed it. She makes a lot of combinations: stalder full to pak salto, full turn info full twisting double dismount. She overrules her country mate and outdoes her with a good 15-score. Rebecca Downie (GBR) qualified as first gymnast together with Mustafina, 15,100 and the Russian did better than in qualifications. The British gymnast showed her quality upgrading her exercise with 0,4 in difficulty. She showed a lot of first class flight elements: clear hip circle to piked Tkatchev and Tkatchev to pak salto. With a stuck full in double layout she got the gold medal.

Senior uneven bars results

1. Downie (GBR) 15,500

2. Mustafina (RUS) 15,266

3. Spiridonova (RUS) 14,966

On beam, the fans were looking forward to the performances of the Romanian gymnasts. Iordache showed a excellent tucked salto with full twist. And with a stuck landing on her triple twisting dismount, she ended just behind Kharenkova (RUS). The Russian performed just before her, and made just one mistake. She had the same difficulty as Iordache. Cleaner in execution, she got the gold. Mustafina looked like she was making up her exercise on the spot: great differences with the qualifications. A less higher difficulty note brought her to the third place, even with the best execution of the beam finalists. 

The Polish Marta Pihan-Kulesza deserves a special mention: as the oldest finalist, she brought the finest artistic exercise of the final. Further we mention the planche mount from Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) and the split mount from Rebecca Downie (GBR). 

Senior beam results

1. Kharkenkova (RUS) 14,933

2. Iordache (ROU) 14,800

3. Mustafina (RUS) 14,733

The floor final entertained the audience the most, with a tie on the first place… The new floor from Janssen-Fritsen is extremely bouncy, so the gymnasts can perform more difficult tumbling passes. The first two gymnasts end as a tie, Marta Pihan-Kulesza (POL) and Bulimar (ROU) both got the 14,400. Pihan-Kulesza really danced through her exercise on the pink panther.

Steingrubers (SUI) exercise only contained double tucks: full twisting double layout, double layout, double pike and double tuck. She ends up fourth. Meanwhile Iordache had already set the best score so far, even though she looked very tired after her exercise. It is logical that she is tired since she competed a lot the last week: she was in all finals - the team final and all four event finals. The Italian crowd really supported Vanessa Ferrari during her difficult exercise, a lot of twisting and double tucks in her routine! She ties with Iordache for the first place.

Senior floor exercise results

1. Iordache (ROU) 14,800

1. Ferrari (ITA) 14,800

3. Steingruber (SUI) 14,500