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It was a successful weekend for Brazil and Russia at the second FIG World Challenge Cup event of the season in Osijek (CRO), where gymnasts from thirteen different countries overall picked up medals. With three golds and five medals in total Brazil topped the overall medal table at the close of play on Sunday, while Russia’s gymnasts collected a total of seven medals, two of them gold.

Russia features on all but three podiums

Russian gymnasts appeared on seven of the ten podiums with Kirill Prokopev making a notably strong impression at his first World Challenge Cup event by winning gold on Floor Exercise. First year senior Anastasiia Iliankova, who won two individual titles at the 2016 European Junior Championships, prevailed on Uneven Bars and added a silver on Balance Beam. Another newcomer to the World Challenge Cup scene, Sergei Eltcov, pocketed silver on Parallel Bars and bronze on Horizontal Bar, while Nikita Simonov ranked second on Still Rings. With bronze on Floor Exercise, Liliia Akhaimova rounded off the success of Russia’s young team.

Brazilians bring youth and experience

Following up on his first-place finish in Koper (SLO) last week, London 2012 Olympic champion and Rio 2016 runner-up Arthur Zanetti continued his great form with gold on his specialty apparatus, the Still Rings.

“I'm going back to Brazil very happy,” he said. “There was no doubt that I’ve felt good on this European tour. I'm in great shape, even better than I was at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I’m full of motivation to go on and win the gold medal in Tokyo.”

On Sunday, first-year senior Thais Santos left her mark by winning the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise competitions in what was her first World Challenge Cup event. “These four days were great,” she said. ”We enjoyed the great organization and the crowd support. I'd love to come back here again.”

Flavia Saraiva, one of the darlings of the home crowd last summer in Rio, completed the Brazilian success story with silver on Floor and bronze on Balance Beam.

Irish teenager steals show on Pommel Horse

Ireland‘s Rhys McClenaghan was up against two rivals enjoying home support but the teenager still stole the show by winning the Pommel Horse gold on Saturday. In a final where five competitors fell off the apparatus, the 17-year-old defeated Croatian duo Robert Seligman and Matija Baron, who had to settle for silver and bronze.
“I wanted to win so much so took the biggest risks I could, and in the end, it seems to have been the right decision,” said Seligman. “Although I fell, I did a very good exercise. I have to take this opportunity to thank the crowd who filled every seat at Osijek city hall and gave great support to all the finalists.”

Hungary claims a 1-2 on Vault

European bronze medallist Boglarka Devai (HUN) went one better than her silver medal Koper as she took gold in a tense competition in women’s Vault. She was joined on the podium by compatriot Zsofia Kovacs, who went on to win another silver on Uneven Bars. “The vault in Osijek was the toughest discipline, this is practically a replay of the European finals at Cluj, and I'm really glad for this tough competition,” said Devai.

Latin American success

Audrys Nin Reyes from the Dominican Republic and Colombia’s Jossimar Calvo Moreno picked up the gold medals on men’s Vault and Parallel Bars respectively. Calvo Moreno, who had finished second on Parallel Bars in Koper, declared his satisfaction with his performances afterwards. “I'm so happy,” he said. “It's not easy to travel so many kilometers and then not deliver a good performance. I'm going home happy and will continue with my training sessions. Koper and Osijek have shown that I'm on the right path.”

Croatia’s new star

The event ended on Sunday with the domestic crowd enjoying a dazzling performance from the up-and-coming Croatian star, Tin Srbić, who won on Horizontal Bar. The 20-year old repeated his victory in Koper in front of his home crowd to take his seventh medal from the last eight FIG World Challenge Cup tournaments.
“It was incredible,” Srbić said. “I have to admit the great atmosphere really gave me a lift. I thought to myself, 'Look, you have to do it the best you can in front of all of these people. I have to give everything I have, even if I fall.' And that’s how it went – the best I could give at the moment. Maybe there are some better exercises I've done while I was training, but to perform in front of this crowd, in front of my parents who haven't watched me competing for several years. This is a special story and it's hard to stay calm. It couldn't be better than this.”