In the final session of competition in Sofia, the senior men took to the floor one last time for their event finals. Just as Great Britain’s Nile Wilson dominated the junior event finals, Russia’s Denis Abliazin showed his dominance in the senior finals, winning all three events in which he competed (floor, rings, and vault)! Interestingly, he shared the top of the podium with teammate Aleksander Balandin after a tie for the gold medal on rings. Things brings Abliazin's final medal count to an impressive four gold medals- the most gold out of anyone at this competition.

Max Whitlock (GBR) took home the gold on pommel horse, Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) won on parallel bars, and Epke Zonderland (NED) took home a well-deserved gold for his dominant high bar performance. 

 

Floor Exercise:

Abliazin (RUS) took home the gold with a 15.700 for his jam-packed routine that included a front 2.5 twist, laid out double-double, laid out Thomas, piked double Arabian, and a triple twist dismount (D-score of 7.1). Earning the silver was Eleftherios Kosmidis (GRE) with a 15.533 for his front double twist to 1.5 twist, double-double, 2.5 twist to tucked front full, layout Thomas, and full-in dismount. Daniel Purvis (GBR), the final competitor, opened with a nice double-double and completed the rest of the routine cleanly, finishing off with a whip to double Arabian. His score of 15.400 was enough to tie Alexander Shatilov (ISR) for the bronze. Whitlock (GBR), who qualified to the final in first place out of bounds on second pass (backwards 3.5 twist to Barani) but STUCK his triple twist dismount to finish in fifth with a 15.333. In sixth was Dzmitry Barkalau (BLR) with a 15.241, and seventh went to Claudio Capelli (SUI) with a 14.900. David Belyavskiy (RUS) finished in eighth after taking side step on his triple twist dismount and earning a score of 14.866.

 

Pommel Horse:

As is often the case, todays pommel horse came down to a simple matter of who fell versus who stayed on the horse. Whitlock, the top qualifier and favorite to win after his stellar performance in team finals, again wowed the crowd with his high difficulty (7.3) and clean execution. His score of 16.166 was more than enough to win the event title with a 0.533 margin over the rest of the field. Meanwhile Krisztian Berki (HUN), the 2012 Olympic champion on this event, showed off great flexibility and control in his routine as he glided his way to a 15.633 for a silver medal. Saso Bertoncelj (SLO) started off the competition with a clean routine that earned a 15.466 and was good enough for the bronze medal. Nikolai Kuksenkov (RUS) had a large form break during his routine but managed to avoid falling. He finished just out of the medals with a 15.333.

The fall trouble came first for Vernaiev (UKR), who came off the horse on his handstand travels, scoring a 14.133 and finishing in fifth. Andrey Likhovitskiy (BLR) also fell on his Russians, scoring a 14.000 and ending up in sixth. Filip Ude (CRO), who qualified second to the final, hesitated a bit in a press handstand but managed to save the skill, only to fall moments later on Russians. He settled for seventh place with a 13.766. The falls continued as Vaili Mikhalitsyn (BLR) came off the horse on his Civado, sending him to the bottom of the scoreboard with a disappointing 13.266.

 

Still Rings:

Abliazin, who qualified to the final in first place with a 15.766, proved himself worthy of the ranking as he performed his difficult routine with seeming ease. He earned a 15.800 and a share of the gold medal with an Aazaryan into swallow, lowered into planche and the back to swallow, front tucked and piked saltos into a planche hold, and a laid out double-double dismount (6.8 D-score). Fellow Russian competitor Balandin, the second-place qualifier, performed last and tied Abliazin to join him on top of the podium.  The two showed great camaraderie as they climbed the podium holding hands. Samir Ait Said (FRA) enjoyed the cheers of a loud support section as he performed a clean set (scoring a 15.766) highlighted by a Swallow to iron cross and capped off by a stuck full-twisting double layout. Despite qualifying to the final in eighth place, he walked away with the bronze medal, the first for France in this championship.

Artur Tovmasyan (ARM), who qualified to the event in third place, finished just out of medal contention with a 15.700. He was followed by teammate Davtyan Vahagn (ARM) and Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE), who tied for fifth place with a 15.600. Igor Radivilov (UKR) performed a clean set and landed low and took several steps back on his tucked double-double dismount, scoring only a 15.033 landing in seventh. Lambertus van Gelder (NED) had to settle for a 14.208 and eighth place after he under-rotated his full-twisting double layout dismount and put his hands down on the mat.

 

Vault:

Again Denis Abliazin, competing in his third final of the day, proved that he came to win as he earned his third gold on as many events! He opened with a Tsuk double pike and followed up with a Yurchenko ½ on, 2.5 twist off to take his third gold medal of the day with a 15.15 average. Joining him on the podium were Ukrainian teammates Radivilov with silver and Verniaiev with bronze. Radivilov posted a 15.050 average for his giant Dragulescu (two hops back) and Tsuk double pike (slightly low chest on landing). Verniaiev performed a big Dragulescu but seemed to be in a bit of pain as he walked off the landing mat grabbing his left foot. He performed a Tsuk triple twist as his second vault but had significant form issues including bent legs and a low landing. He limped off the podium but still managed to claim the bronze with a 14.916. 

Casimir Schmidt (NED) STUCK his Tsuk 2.5 cold, getting a huge 9.4 E-score, and followed up with a front handspring double twist to finish in fourth with a 14.833 average. Tomi Tuuha (FIN) tied with Schmidt after performing the same vaults and earning identical E-scores (even with a hop to the same side on the second vault)! Andrey Medvedev (ISR) landed in sixth place place after a nice Roche and a Tsuk double pike with several steps backwards, for which he scored a 14.733 average. Michael Meier (SUI) took several steps backwards and out of bounds on his first vault, a Yurchenko 2.5 twist, but he followed up nicely with a fhs laid out Rudi for an average of 14.233 and the seventh finishing spot. It was an unfortaunate day for Jeffrey Wammes (NED), who fell on both of his vaults— a Tsuk 2.5 twist, which he had to tuck to land safely, and a Yurchenko ½ on, double twist off. He repeated the first vault due to the fact that the springboard moved forward significantly in his first attempt, but the shock of the first fall seemed to be too much for him mentally, and he sat down the vault a second time. Wammes finished last and was clearly disappointed with a 6.800 average (due to a score of 0.0 for the last attempt) but was lucky to walk away without any injuries.

 

Parallel bars:

Verniaiev, the first-place qualifier to the final, kicked off the competition in style with beautiful set that earned him a 15.966 and the gold medal. He showed impeccable form and control during his routine, which included a Honma, cast to single bar, Tippelt, Healy to ½ turn, and a STUCK double front ½ dismount. He had a long wait as the other seven gymnasts performed before his title was confirmed, but in the end he led by a comfortable margin of 0.4 points. David Belyavskiy (RUS) took the silver with a 15.566 for his routine including a cast to single bar, Diamidov, Tippelt, Honma, Bilozerchev, and a front double pike which he stuck after a quick balance check. Zonderland (NED) was a bit off-balance in his cast to single-bar handstand, but his jam-packed routine, highlighted by a Pegan and a stuck double pike, earned him a 15.533 and the bronze medal.

Marius Daniel Berbecar (ROU), the second-place qualifier to the final, finished in fourth with a 14.966. Nikolai Kuksenkov (RUS) endured a long wait for the score as the judges deliberated on his routine, but eventually he was awarded a 14.200 which placed him in fifth overall. Fellow Romanian Andrei Vasile Muntean started off well but spent several seconds in a single-bar handstand as he tried to regain his balance and control before performing a Diamidov. However, he lost a bit of momentum and struggled to regain it throughout the next few skills. He scored a 14.166 and ended up in sixth place. Mitja Petkovsek (SLO), who qualified to the final in third place, suffered a fall on a cast right at the beginning of the routine, but he got back up and finished cleanly for a score of 12.566, which placed him in seventh overall. Aliaksandr Tsarevich (BLR) also fell as he attempted to reach a handstand after his Honma. The costly fall landed him in eighth place with a 12.100.

 

High Bar:

In the last final of both the day and the entire competition, things started out rough for veteran Fabian Hambuechen (GER). His hands slip after catching a piked Kovacs, and he took a nasty fall to the belly which left him rubbing his back and unable to finish. He scored a 5.125 for the partial routine but seemed to be alright as he was attended to by his coaches.

Zonderland, who scored a huge 15.866 for the lead in the qualifying round, did not disappoint with his extremely difficult, well-executed routine today! He swung beautifully on the way to the gold medal, earning another 15.866 after performing a Cassina, Kovacs to Gaylord II, hop full, and STUCK layout double-double. Sam Oldham (GBR) took the silver medal as he scored a 14.866 for his set including a Yamawaki, Kolman, Tkatchev half, Rybalko, and laid out double-double. Joining him on the podium was teammate Kristian Thomas (GBR) who took bronze with a score of 14.808. Thomas impressed both the crowd and the judges with his routine highlighted by a Liukin, pike Tkatchev ½, Endo full, and hop full. 

Oliver Hegi (SUI), the third-place qualifier, started off his set with a crowd-pleasing Def but had a moment of hesitation during a mixed-grip handstand before his Yamawaki. However, he managed to regain his control and finish the routine cleanly for a 14.800 and fourth place. Kristof Schroe (BEL) finished in fifth with a 14.766, while Hamilton Sabot (FRA) worked lots of twisting elements and grip changes throughout his routine, including an impressive one-armed giant, to take fifth place with a 14.500.

Maksym Semiankiv (UKR), the last competitor of the event, day, and competition, suffered a bit of a meltdown with two falls, but he was able to get up and finish the routine, landing him in seventh place with an 11.766, ahead of Hambuechen.

 

This marks the conclusion of the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 2015 European Championships, which will only consist of individual competition, will take place in France (dates TBD).

Related Junior Mens Event Finals

Results via Sofia Gymnastics