The first annual European Games men’s all-around crown went to Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev this afternoon following his wins at the European Championships and American Cup earlier this year.

Verniaiev’s gold-winning score of 90.332 was more than a point ahead of silver medalist Oleg Stepko of Azerbaijan, who scored an 89.065. The bronze went to Russia’s Nikita Ignatyev with an 87.365, just three tenths ahead of Dzmitry Barkalau of Belarus.

Qualifying first into the final with a massive 91.532, Verniaiev was the clear front-runner for the gold. His floor routine was not as clean as it was during qualifications, taking a huge step back on his front double full to front 1.5. His closing back triple full was clean but lacked height and was just slightly under-rotated, garnering a 14.533 to sit in 9th after the first rotation.

On pommels, Verniaiev gave one of his best performances yet. His routine had good rhythm, nice height in his hips, and was very technically clean, earning him a MASSIVE score of 15.9 and pushing him ahead of everyone else, a lead he would maintain for the next four rotations.

Moving to rings, Verniaiev maintained the momentum with a solid routine complete with strong cross positions and only taking a few steps on his dismount for a 14.9. Further growing his lead, Verniaiev vaulted a beautiful Dragulescu, taking just a step on the landing. His vault was sky-high, demonstrating his great block technique, earning a 15.3.

Verniaiev cut into his massive lead with his less-than-stellar parallel bars routine. Usually his best event, he was plagued by minor form issues such as leg separations and then a struggle with a handstand left him with a 14.933, nearly seven tenths lower than his score from qualifications and bringing him within four tenths of Stepko.

But he cemented his bid for gold after a solid showing on high bar complete with a nailed double double layout dismount, which brought in a 14.766 and a big sigh of relief.

Stepko, who qualified in third behind Ignatyev, was able to snatch the silver as a result of his strong showing today, and partly thanks to Ignatyev’s troubles on high bar. On floor, he delivered a routine that was great, landings aside. He had a hop back on his front double tuck, a huge hop forward on his arabian double pike, and a massive lunge out-of-bounds on his arabian double tuck, where he struggled in qualifications. His otherwise clean routine garnered a 14.6.

He stepped up his game and delivered a solid routine on the pommel horse, one of his strongest events. Stepko demonstrated great extension on his scissors and good tempo on his traveling elements. Complete with a clean dismount, his routine earned a 15.3, pushing him into second.

On rings, he competed a clean, albeit lower difficulty, routine, holding solid pike positions though he was just a bit short on some of his holds. He demonstrated good control of the rings and ended with a stuck double pike for a 14.633. Moving to vault, Stepko hit a Yeo with huge height but a large step on the landing, and his tuck was cowboyed considerably, earning a 14.766.

The parallel bars were where Stepko really illustrated his talent. He delivered a very technically clean and precise routine with a stuck double pike dismount to match, posting a HUGE 15.866, which brought him just four tenths away from first place. By this point it was a battle for gold between the two Olegs and a battle for bronze between Ignatyev and Barkalau.

Ending on high bar, traditionally one of his weakest events, Stepko competed some unique German giants and ended with a solid triple back tuck dismount, celebrating his hit routine with a barrage of fist pumps as the arena went wild. His routine scored a 13.9, identical to his routine from qualifications, and enough to soundly capture the silver in front of the home crowd.

Ignatyev started strong but was unable to sneak ahead of Stepko, holding onto third position after leading the first rotation. Beginning on floor, Ignatyev was able to lead thanks to a strong showing. With just a wobble on his 1.5 to front double tuck and his front double to full, Ignatyev scored a sizable 14.9 to start his day.

He would afterwards fall to third after a weak pommel horse routine, where he had leg separation on his traveling elements, earning a 14.3. Ignatyev recovered with a good performance on rings where he displayed great extension and strength in his cross positions with a big double twisting double layout to finish for a 15.033.

Continuing his pursuit to edge out Stepko, Ignatyev vaulted a stuck front double tuck which garnered a 14.966, leaving him just a few tenths behind. He would sink further on parallel bars, however, where he struggled hitting vertical in his handstands and dismounted with an under-rotated double front half that almost clipped the bars. Though he picked up a solid 15.266, he was now seven tenths behind Stepko.

Hoping to hit a mid-15 on high bar as he did in qualifications, Ignatyev’s performance almost cost him the podium inetirely. His first two releases had great height and form but he fell on his third and suffered from leg separations later in the routine. Despite nailing his double double layout dismount, he earned a 12.9, which was lucky for him, just enough to hold onto the bronze.

Barkalau finished in fourth just a few tenths behind Ignatyev. A strong floor and vault worker, Barkalau was behind the top three for most of the final, but his consistency combined with Ignatyev’s fall almost gave him a shot at the podium.

Fabien Hambuechen of Germany finished in fifth with an 85.631. His bid for the medals was ended by a fall on his Shewfelt vault, as well as with major form issues on floor and pommel horse. He ended with a fantastic showing on high bar, though, earning a 15.5.

Finally, Brinn Bevan of Great Britain had a solid showing early on, earning a 14.8 on floor including a stuck triple full, but a fall on his rings dismount and two falls on high bar would keep him outside the top 8.

Congratulations to the medalists, and good luck to all gymnasts as they prepare for event finals on Saturday!

Article by Esteban Rodriguez-Vazquez