The prestigious 2014 European Championships begins tomorrow May 14th in Sofia, Bulgaria. The list of competitors has been released and below are some of the gymnasts you do not want to miss. 


Aliya Mustafina- Russia
Reigning European Champion and 2012 Olympian, Aliya Mustafina is always a fan favorite, but she is still recovering from an injury and it is unclear if she will compete vault. An article last month noted she would not compete vault, but we haven't seen an update on this status. Last month Mustafina took gold at the Russian National Championships for the fourth straight year and will serve as a team leader for Russia. While Mustafina’s elegance and grace helped her win gold on beam at last year’s World Championships, she is more known for her bars than any other event where she displays tons of difficulty including her signature 1 1/2 twisting double tuck dismount named after her. 


Vanessa Ferrari- Italy
Vanessa Ferrari is Italy’s most decorated gymnast and while she may be considered old for a gymnast at 23, she is in top condition and ready to make a statement. Ferrari competed earlier this season at the American Cup, but with watered down routines she placed fifth all-around. Ferrari continued on to the Tokyo World Cup where she took first all-around and received the highest beam score. While Ferrari is strong on all events, floor is where she really shines with her electric dance and powerful tumbling.


Larisa Iordache- Romania
2012 Olympian Larisa Iordache claimed the silver last year at the European Championships and this year will be a key leader on Romania's team. Iordache’s beautiful lines and graceful execution really draw in the crowd and especially shine through on floor. Iordache withdrew from the American Cup earlier this year due to injury but continued on to compete at Doha World Cup where she won vault, beam, and floor. 


Rebecca Tunney- Great Britain
Rebecca Tunney claimed her second all-around gold at the British Championships earlier this year and looks in top shape to lead the British team. She also won gold on bars with her new Church- Bhardwaj combination, which brings her to a 6.6 difficulty start value.


Romania’s Junior Team
Romania is sending a hot group of juniors including Laura Jurca, Andra Stoica, Anda Butuc, Andreea Iridon, and Asiana Lida Peng. All five of these gymnasts competed at the 2014 Jesolo Trophy where they placed second to Team USA. Jurca placed fourth all-around at the Jesolo Trophy only behind three of USA’s gymnasts. These relatively new juniors have all the talent and personality to make a big statement this year at Euro’s. Watch videos of Team Romania from the 2014 Jesolo Trophy here.

See the full list of competitors here via UEG. 

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Gymnastike will be providing results and recaps from the 2014 European Championships. The European Gymnastics Union will be broadcasting the Senior finals through their website www.ueg.org.

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