Croatian gymnast Ilja Kovtun wins European All-Around title

Croatian gymnast Ilja Kovtun has claimed the European All-Around Championship title, marking a significant achievement in his first competition representing Croatia.

The 23-year-old, who was born in Ukraine, delivered a strong performance across various apparatuses. He earned the highest score of the day on the rings with 14.500 points and was second on the high bar with 14.200. His floor exercise score was 14.100, and he received a satisfactory 13.900 on the vault. However, a fall from the pommel horse resulted in a score of 12.800. Despite this setback, his final score on the rings, 13.333, was just enough to edge out silver medalist Arseniy Duna by a mere thousandth of a point, with Daniel Marinov taking bronze.

This victory marks the third European Championship gold medal for Croatian gymnastics, following in the footsteps of Mario Možnik and Tin Srbić, who previously excelled on the high bar. Kovtun expressed his elation, stating, "This is my first gold in the all-around, and of course, I am very happy. I could have done without mistakes, but the medal is here, and three more finals. I haven't even realized I won gold yet, it all went too fast." He acknowledged the mistake on the pommel horse but was pleased with the outcome.

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This is my first gold in the all-around, and of course, I am very happy. I could have done without mistakes, but the medal is here, and three more finals. I haven't even realized I won gold yet, it all went too fast. There was a mistake on the horse, but for today, this was enough for gold. In the future, I will try to be even better. The most important thing is that the coach is happy, because this is a medal after a long time and not competing.

Looking ahead, Kovtun is set to compete in the finals for the floor exercise, rings, and high bar. "Preparations for the finals start tomorrow. It's hard for me to say where I have the best chances for a medal. You can come most prepared, but make a mistake. I'll give my best, whatever happens," he said. He also expressed gratitude for the audience's support, noting the presence of many young gymnasts from Croatian clubs.

Despite battling a persistent hand injury that caused bleeding, Kovtun managed to perform. He has been living in Osijek for over four years and feels fully assimilated into Croatian life. Meanwhile, fellow Croatian gymnast Tin Srbić did not qualify for the high bar final, finishing 16th.

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Preparations for the finals start tomorrow. It's hard for me to say where I have the best chances for a medal. You can come most prepared, but make a mistake. I'll give my best, whatever happens. I'm glad that the audience accepted me and cheered for me. Many children from all Croatian clubs came, and their support means a lot to me.