News

27.02.22

In terms of sport, the team of Ukraine has reeled off its program at the Gymnastics World Cup in Cottbus and clearly determined the level in the field of more than 30 nations. On Sunday Illia Kovtun on parallel bars as well as Daniela Batrona on balance beam were able to enter the lists of winners of this traditional tournament. Nazar Chepurnyi as second on the men's vault will surely keep Cottbus in good memory as well. Already on the first day of the finals, the trio had ensured four top placings, including a second place by Kovtun on pommel horse.

On the second day of the 45th Tournament of Champions, the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) again remained without a World Cup medal. The best result was achieved by 17-year-old Aiyu Zhu from Cologne after a safe routine on the balance beam, finishing in fourth place (12.533 points). Batrona received 13.200 points for her winning routine. In her third final in Cottbus, Zhu finished seventh on floor with 11.233 points. Spain's Alba Petisco (12.900) was the winner on floor.

In the men's event Glenn Trebing from TK Hannover finished fourth on parallel bars with 14.300 points. Best of the day came the Ukrainian Kovtun (14.966). On the men's vault, the World Cup victory went to the Armenian Artur Davtyan (14.983) ahead of the best qualifier Nazar Chepurnyi (Ukraine/14.600). German gymnasts did not qualify. On the "royal apparatus" high bar, the US American Brody Malone took the lead with the last routine of the competition with 14.700 points.

For the German Gymnastics Federation team, which competed without its figureheads such as Olympic silver medalist Lukas Dauser, not everything went smoothly in sporting terms. "It's good that the tournament actually took place. Because I know it's not easy to manage such an event during the pandemic," summed up new men's head coach Valeri Belenki, himself a three-time winner at the Turnier der Meister in 1994. "The bottom line is that we had two appearances in the finals, I'm happy about that. And now we have to keep looking ahead towards the European Championships," said the former Olympic champion. New women's coach Gerben Wiersma drew a satisfied conclusion after his debut for the DTB. "I saw many positive things that we can build on in the future," said the Dutchman.

With around 300 participants from 32 nations, the Turnier der Meister turned out to be smaller than the last time it was held in 2019. "We are nevertheless happy that we were able to host again - this time with a small but fine tournament," tournament director Mirko Wohlfahrt concluded. The revenue budget of 550,000 euros has been secured even without spectator income. The hygiene concept worked smoothly. By Sunday, no one had been tested positive for Corona. "We definitely want to continue," Wohlfahrt announced, "in 2023, the Turnier der Meister in Cottbus should once again become a festival - with everything that makes us special." The 46th edition is scheduled for February 23-26, 2023.