Kovtun at Arena Zagreb: 'All-around gold is my main wish'
The European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships kick off in Zagreb on Wednesday, with Croatia's hopes led by Illia Kovtun in his debut under the Croatian flag.
The European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships kick off in Zagreb on Wednesday, with Croatia's hopes led by Illia Kovtun in his debut under the Croatian flag.
The European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships open on Wednesday, August 19, at Arena Zagreb, bringing together 332 gymnasts from 40 countries. Special attention will be on Illia Kovtun, who aims for Croatia's first all-around medal at the European Championships in his debut appearance for the country.
Kovtun, a member of Gimnastički klub Osijek Žito, has won silver and bronze in the all-around at World Championships, is the current Olympic silver medalist on parallel bars, and a multiple European champion on parallel bars and high bar. After the outbreak of war in his homeland, he found peace and top training conditions at the Osijek club, and a year ago he acquired Croatian citizenship.
The gymnast makes no secret of his high ambitions ahead of his first appearance under the Croatian flag. "Recently, my coach and I talked about how we still don't have an all-around gold at the European Championships, and that's my main wish in Zagreb. I expect the most from the all-around and the parallel bars routine. Finals or a medal are possible on other apparatuses too. I'm aware of the high expectations from the sports public and fans; I'll try to be as good as possible and give my all. But this is competition-nerves and other circumstances can have an impact, so we'll have to wait until the end to see how it all turns out," Kovtun said after the official training session at the Arena.
Alongside Kovtun, Croatia has several other aces for high achievements. Tin Srbić, Olympic silver medalist on high bar from Tokyo and former world and European champion on that apparatus, gets to experience a major competition in his hometown-something many athletes never get to do.
"I didn't really feel that we have the European Championships in Zagreb until I walked into the Arena and did the first training sessions. Until then, I didn't feel it was actually happening. I'm glad it's happening while I'm still active and in good shape. And I can say I'm really in good shape, and I think I can fight for the final here, and then later for medals," Srbić said.
On pommel horse, Croatia will be represented by two gymnasts. Filip Ude, Olympic silver medalist from Beijing 2008, has repeatedly emphasized that he would have already had shoulder surgery, but he didn't want to miss the home championship.
"There was no chance I'd miss the European Championships in Zagreb, even injured like this. Ambitions? I feel like nowadays everyone only does pommel horse. The competition is tough; pommel horse is a European apparatus, it always has been and probably always will be. My wish is to do my routine well. I really need to execute it flawlessly, and then there's a chance for something more," Ude said.
Aurel Benović, vault finalist at the Paris Olympics, is competing cautiously due to long-standing injury issues. "My situation over the last two years has been quite turbulent, as I've been plagued by injuries since the Olympics, and I'm still carrying one. But despite everything, I'm ready and happy to be here, and I can't wait to compete in qualifications. Gymnastics is truly unpredictable, so I hope that with a bit of sporting luck, I'll manage to land my two vaults as steadily as possible in qualifications," said Benović, who has withdrawn from the floor exercise due to these issues.
Mateo Žugec, Croatia's other representative on pommel horse, believes in his abilities. "I've heard that the competition at this European Championship is the strongest so far. But I really think that if I repeat my routine from podium training, I can make the final and finish the job here. That's my goal, but we'll see on Wednesday what happens. I hope the arena will be full again and the crowd will be really loud," Žugec said.
Marko Jovičić will compete in floor qualifications. "On floor, we're facing Olympic and world medalists, and the competition is really tough. Making the top eight out of more than a hundred gymnasts is a big deal. I hope we'll put on a real spectacle for the spectators. I'd like to take this opportunity to praise our federation and everyone involved in organizing this championship; it's a big thing for Croatia," Jovičić concluded.
The audience at Arena Zagreb will also get to see nine Olympic medalists. Three are Olympic champions: Artem Dolgopyat won gold on floor in Tokyo 2021, Eleftherios Petrounias was best on rings in Rio 2016, and Rhys McClenaghan returned with gold on pommel horse from Paris 2024. McClenaghan, with a streak of four consecutive golds at major competitions, is the most successful pommel horse gymnast in history.
Among the Olympic medalists on the list are also three Croatian national team members: Tin Srbić, Filip Ude, and Illia Kovtun.
Qualifications start on Wednesday at 10 a.m., with the Croatian gymnasts taking the podium at 5:45 p.m. in the final, and strongest, qualification group. Among the Croatian representatives, the first routines to watch will be on vault, followed by parallel bars, high bar, floor, pommel horse, and rings.
