Kovtun European Champion in All-Around, Wins by One-Thousandth of a Point
Croatian gymnast Ilja Kovtun won the European all-around title at the European Championships in Zagreb, triumphing by the narrowest possible margin.
Croatian gymnast Ilja Kovtun won the European all-around title at the European Championships in Zagreb, triumphing by the narrowest possible margin.
Croatian gymnast Ilja Kovtun, a 23-year-old born in Ukraine, won the European all-around title at the European Championships in Zagreb. In his first appearance under the Croatian flag, he triumphed by the narrowest possible margin of one thousandth of a point.
Kovtun posted the day's best score on the pommel horse with 14.500, while he was second on the high bar with 14.200. On the floor exercise, he placed fifth with a score of 14.100, and he completed the vault with a satisfactory 13.900.
However, not everything went smoothly. Near the end of his routine on the pommel horse, he fell off the apparatus and received a score of 12.800. On the final apparatus, the rings, he scored 13.333.
With a total score of 82.832, Kovtun edged out silver medalist Arseniy Duhna by the smallest possible margin of one thousandth of a point. Duhna also posted a total of 82.832 but finished second in the final standings. Daniel Marinov took the bronze with a score of 81.899.
The European Gymnastics Championships are being held in Zagreb, and Kovtun's title comes in his first appearance under the Croatian flag.
This is the third gold medal for Croatian gymnastics at the European Championships, following Marijo Možnik and Tin Srbić, who were champions on the high bar in 2015 and 2023, respectively.
After winning the gold, Kovtun said: "This is my first all-around gold, and of course I'm very happy. I could have done it without mistakes, but the medal is here, and there are still three finals. I haven't even realized I won the gold; everything went too fast for me. There was a mistake on the pommel horse, but today that was enough for gold. In the future, I'll try to be even better. The most important thing is that my coach is happy, because this is a medal after a long time and after not competing."
Kovtun will compete in the floor final on Friday, with finals on the pommel horse and high bar on Saturday. "Preparation for the finals starts tomorrow. It's hard for me to say where I have the best chance for a medal. You can come in the best shape but make a mistake. I'll give my all, and we'll see what happens. I'm glad the crowd accepted me and cheered for me. A lot of children came from all Croatian clubs, and their support means a lot to me," he added.
During the competition, Kovtun was bothered by a blister on his hand, which made his performance even more difficult. "What worried me most was that blood was constantly running, so there was a danger of slipping," he revealed.
Kovtun, who has lived in Osijek for more than four years, has fully assimilated into Croatian society. "For Saturday, we could invite tambura players. We know some people; we'll arrange it," he joked.
In addition to Kovtun's triumph, Croatian gymnastics has more reasons for satisfaction, but also for concern. Tin Srbić, the Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo 2021, world champion from Montreal 2017, and European champion from Antalya 2023, failed to qualify for the high bar final in his home Zagreb. With a score of 13.666, he finished 16th, 0.3 points behind the eighth-place Swiss gymnast Noe Seifert, who was the last to make the final.
