Zoja Szekely

The penultimate challenge cup of the six-part series is set to take place in Szombathely, Hungary in September, and with the FIG’s release of the nominative roster, we can see that a large number of athletes who have qualified for world championships will hope to get some experience here first.

Held just three weeks before worlds, which begin with the first day of qualifications on September 30, the competition features gymnasts running the gamut from world medal contenders down to those just thrilled to have qualified, and also includes many gymnasts from outside of Europe – including from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Taiwan – making it easier for any qualifiers from those nations who can benefit from being on the continent early enough to adjust to the time zone.

As the host, Hungary is also of course sending a whole parade of its most talented gymnasts, including Csenge Bacskay, Lili Czifra, Zoja Szekely, and Boglarka Tömböl on the women’s side, and Krisztian Balazs, Balazs Kiss, Krisztofer Meszaros, Botond Molnar, Benedek Tomcsanyi, and David Vecsernyes on the men’s.

The federation will also feature five athletes as hors-concours competitors, which are athletes from the host country who are allowed to perform exhibition routines during qualifications, though aren’t eligible to contend for finals. For the women, this includes likely worlds team members Greta Mayer and Nikolett Szilagyi, while the men’s field will see routines from Szabolcs Batori, Botond Kardos, and Marton Kovacs.

Qualifications will be held in Szombathely on Friday, September 8, with the first day of apparatus finals on September 9 and the competition concluding on September 10. There will likely be a stream for all days of competition via the federation’s website and social media. A complete lists of athletes expected to compete is below.

Article by Lauren Hopkins