The President's Note N°4 - September 2026

Dear friends

What an incredible summer of sport we have witnessed! And gymnastics played a major role in it.

We started this summer madness in the beautiful Tuscan town of Pistoia where the heatwave caused some challenges for the participants and the organisation of the European Gym for Life Challenge and EUROGYM. Resilience is a strong point among gymnasts luckily. We saw the almost 3500 participants of the European Gym for Life Challenge give the best of themselves spread over 3 days of contest. It was the first time we had so many entries, the first time we split in small and large groups, and the first time we had 3 days of this Challenge. Congratulations to the Technical Committee led by Ricardo Lima for improving the popularity of this event.

Immediately after the Challenge, 4218 gymnasts from 21 countries gathered in Pistoia for EUROGYM, our biennial Gymnastics for All festival aimed at teenagers. Despite the heat, the gymnasts gave it their all, making the most of the possibilities to join workshops, excursions, and mesmerising the crowd at the four different stages spread throughout the town. The atmosphere was truly spectacular. Grazie Italia!

In August, we spent an incredible 2 weeks in the Croatian capital Zagreb. First the women, then the men, competed at the European Championships in Artistic Gymnastics. We introduced the new European Gymnastics event branding at this event and it looked absolutely stunning.

Competition wise we saw some magical moments. Reigning World Champion Angelina Melnikova claimed her maiden European all-around title, 12 years after being crowned junior Champion. Both men’s all-around champions, Illia Kovtun in the senior competition and junior Daniel Smirnov, won by a margin of just 0.001, the smallest possible margin. I want to warmly extend a heartfelt congratulations to the Croatian Gymnastics Federation for this professionalism in organising this event, for the first time in their history.

Not only on the European stage did our gymnasts shine. In August, the World Championships season kicked off. First up was Rhythmic Gymnastics in Frankfurt (GER), followed by Aerobics in Pamplona (ESP) and Acrobatic Gymnastics in Pesaro (ITA) in September. Yet again, the European delegations showed their worth, winning many medals, and claiming the first Olympic spots on offer.

While we fondly remember these great events, it’s also the time to look ahead!

As we speak, the world’s gymnastics federations are gathering in the Thai capital Bangkok for the biennial World Gymnastics Congress. It’s the perfect moment to exchange ideas, discuss best practices and inform the international governing body of requested improvements in the general execution of our sport, and the specifics of each discipline.

On Sunday, the Golden Age Gym Festival will kick off in the French coastal town of Les Sables d’Olonne. With 2026 participants from 21 countries, this Gymnastics for All festival dedicated to gymnasts aged 50 and over will once again provide an incredible setting for a week filled with workshops, excursions, city performances, an educational forum and dance evenings, in the spirit of social and cultural exchange.

Then, we head to Espoo in Finland for the highlight of the TeamGym calendar, the European Championships. For this edition, we will welcome 16 countries. Tickets are selling fast, be quick if you want to join us on site. If you can’t make it to Espoo, do not worry. Our team has organised livestreaming for the entire event on our platform gymtv.online. And we’re delighted to see TeamGym on TV as well! The senior finals will be aired on the national TV in Denmark and in Iceland, while Finnish fans will be able to witness both junior and senior finals on YLE.

At the end of October, the European Gymnastics Executive Committee will meet in Lausanne for its third and last in person meeting of the year. There, we will discuss our ongoing strategic plans, the progress of new, innovative event formats, including the European Games and the European Cups. Our authorities have worked hard on several projects and the results will be visible soon.  

On the world level, we still have the Artistic Worlds in Rotterdam (NED) and the Trampoline & Tumbling Worlds in Nanjing (CHN) up ahead.

I wish all gymnasts an excellent preparation, and an even better competition. This autumn will be action-packed and full of importance.

Hope to meet you at one of our events!

Dr. Farid Gayibov

European Gymnastics President