Belgium prevents Russian sweep of the first senior European titles

The first senior finals were contested today in Holon’s Toto Arena. The gymnasts of the women’s groups and the men’s pairs performed their dynamic routine while the women’s pairs, mixed pairs and men’s group showed off their balance exercise.

Belgium’s Talia De Troyer, Britt Vanderdonckt and Charlotte Van Royen, double gold medallists at the European Games last June, held off a strong challenge by Portugal’s Francisca Sampaio Maia, Francisca Maia and Barbara Sequeira to claim the dynamic European title. Stepping into the spot of leading trio of Belarus, Hanna Katsuba, Darya Ivaniutsenka and Krystsina Lishova claimed the bronze medal.

From then on, the evening belonged to Russia. After a mistake in the qualification round, talented mixed pair Viktoria Aksenova and Kirill Startsev redeemed themselves in the final, where they showed their extraordinary qualities, being the first unit to score over the magic mark of 30 points. Men’s pair Timofei Ivanov and Maksim Karavaev, women’s pair Iasmina Ishankulova and Diana Korotaeva and men’s group German Kudriashov, Alexander Sorokin, Kirill Zadorin and Valeriy Tukhashvili all performed to their best abilities, earning a grant total of 4 gold medals at the opening day of the senior competition.

Returning home with silver and bronze were gymnasts from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Portugal, Belgium and Austria whose women’s pair won a historic bronze medal for their balance routine. Congratulations!

 

Medallists seniors

Women’s Group – Dynamic

1.            Talia DE TROYER, Britt VANDERDONCKT & Charlotte VAN ROYEN (BEL) 29.300
2.            Francisca SAMPAIO MAIA, Francisca MAIA & Barbara SEQUEIRA (POR) 29.070
3.            Hanna KATSUBA, Darya IVANIUTSENKA & Krystsina LISHOVA (BLR) 28.590

Mixed Pair – Balance

1.            Viktoria AKSENOVA & Kirill STARTSEV (RUS) 30.040
2.            Konstantin EVSTAFEEV & Hanna KASYAN (BLR) 28.870
3.            Ruhidil GURBANLI & Abdulla AL-MASHAYKHI (AZE) 28.130

Men’s Pair – Dynamic

1.            Timofei IVANOV & Maksim KARAVAEV (RUS) 29.160
2.            Jamie JEFFERY & Aidan LIM (GBR) 28.710
3.            Maksim MARKEVICH & Aleh MIKHALEVICH (BLR) 28.270

Women’s Pair – Balance

1.            Iasmina ISHANKULOVA & Diana KOROTAEVA (RUS) 29.490
2.            Ana TEIXEIRA & Rita FERREIRA (POR) 29.020
3.            Eva GRASSER & Franziska SEINER (AUT) 26.490

Men’s Group – Balance

1.            German KUDRIASHOV, Alexander SOROKIN, Kirill ZADORIN & Valeriy TUKHASHVILI (RUS) 29.780
2.            Jonas ANTHOON, Robin CASSE, Hannes GARRE & Noam Raj PATEL (BEL) 29.380
3.            Miguel SILVA, Henrique PIQUEIRO, Frederico SILVA & Henrique SILVA (POR) 28.900

Find the full results on our website: https://www.ueg.org/event/2019-european-championships-acrobatic-gymnastics/overview

The European Championships continue tomorrow with qualifications for juniors and seniors.