Pictured: Oleg Verniaiev

The 2014 Arthur Gander Memorial concluded last night in Chiasso, Switzerland. Russian gymnast Daria Spiridonova won the women’s competition and Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine won the men’s competition. Both Spiridonova and Verniaiev competed at the 2014 World Championships just a couple weeks before this competition.

 

The Gander Memorial competition has a unique competition format and gymnasts select specific events they want to compete. In the qualifications round, the women select two events to compete and the men choose three. The top six women and men then move on to the final round. In the final round, each gymnast competes on one event of their choice and that score is added to their qualification score for their total. 

 

Spiridonova scored a 13.3 on vault and an impressive 15.0 on bars in the qualifications round. In the final round, she competed bars again and scored a 14.9 to secure the gold medal with a 43.2. Romania’s Larisa Iordache scored a solid 14.5 on vault but a low 13.5 on floor. In the finals round she scored a 15.0 to clinch the silver medal with a 43 total. Elizabeth Seitz of Germany won bronze with a 42.55. 

 

Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber just missed out on a medal, placing fourth with a 42.25. Steingruber took a risk and performed on beam in the qualifications round, but fell and only scored a 13.35. 

 

Verniaiev took gold with a 62.25, more than two points ahead of any other competitor. He scored an incredible 16.25 on p-bars as well as a 15.4 on rings and 15.15 on vault. In the final round he competed p-bars again and scored a 15.45. Fabian Hambuechen of Germany took the silver with a 60.2. Hambuechen’s performance was bolstered by a high flying high bar routine that scored a 15.3 in qualifications and a 15.4 in finals. Russia’s Nikita Ignatyev took the bronze medal with a 59.25. 

 

The 2014 Swiss Cup will be held on November 2 and many of these gymnasts will compete again then. Read about the Swiss Cup here. 

 

Information and results from FIG.