Romania Wins Team Gold At The European Championships
Romania Wins Team Gold At The European Championships
Romania Wins Team Gold At The European Championships
Romania won gold nearly a full point ahead of the favorite, Russia. Italy made a push to win the bronze. Great Britain, who qualified in third, placed fourth.
Romania once again capitalized on Russia’s mistakes.
The Romanians posted low 15s on vault and made slight improvements on uneven bars, posting high 13s and low 14s. They were also solid on balance beam with Catalina Ponor scoring 15.433 and Larisa Iordache scoring 15.033 on floor. Romania placed fourth at last year’s World Championships and did not have individual medalists. The Romanians have stated since 2009 that the goal has been to be ready for the London Olympics and not necessarily the World Championships. The evidence is now proved by their surprising performance this week.
Russia was strong on uneven bars, posting 15.333, 15.766 and Aliya Mustafina posting the team high with a 15.833. However, the Russians struggled on the other three apparatuses. They counted two 13s on beam, one of which was a 13.066. On floor, they had to count a 13.933 and low and high 14s. Mustafina scored the team high on vault with a 15.166. Her teammates scored in the high 14s on their vaults.
Italy qualified in fourth to the team final and was able to surpass Great Britain who qualified in third. Italy did not post any scores in the 15s, but they were able to absorb two 13s and stayed consistent scoring in the 14 range on all apparatuses. Their consistency paid off, leading them to a bronze medal finish.
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