Emma Slevin

The women’s competition at this year’s Northern European Championships was a bit more low key than usual, as many programs we typically expect to see on the top are currently a bit depleted following post-Olympic breaks and retirements. As teams like Finland, Denmark, and Norway were not at full strength while Sweden and Wales opted to not send any WAG competitors at all, it kept the podium wide open, with the Irish ladies stunning to get the win.

Led by Emma Slevin, who won the all-around competition with a 50.600, and Halle Hilton, who took the bronze medal with a 49.250, the team also included first-year senior Lily Russell, who finished fifth with a 49.050, talented junior Mimi Moloney, who was ninth with a 47.700, Eve McGibbon, who was 13th with a 47.100, and Caoilfhionn Inglish, who was 21st with a 45.200.

With especially strong appearances on vault and floor, Ireland easily took the title with a 197.900, more than six points ahead of the rest of the field. Last year, with both Slevin and Hilton sitting out, the team was only able to reach sixth place, so this was an incredibly exciting moment for this up-and-coming program, especially at home in Dublin.

Though missing some standout athletes, Norway had some strong individual performances to finish second with a 191.350. First-year seniors Keisha Lockert and Christine Kubon were the top competitors for the team, with Lockert – this year’s national champion – finishing fourth with a 49.150 while Kubon was sixth with a 48.250. Veteran Juliane Tøssebro ended up 11th with a 47.300, while Selma Halvorsen was 20th with a 45.200, Mali Neurauter was 23rd with a 45.100, and Olivia Bergem was 30th with a 42.800.

Iceland was also able to take advantage of a weaker field to land on the podium with a 188.750 for the bronze medal. Led by Thelma Adalsteinsdottir, who won the silver medal in the all-around with a 50.050, the team also included Hildur Gudmundsdottir in 10th place with a 47.700, Lilja Gunnarsdottir in 15th with a 45.900, Rakel Petursdottir in 22nd with a 45.100, Thoranna Sveinsdottir in 33rd with a 42.100, and Lovisa Johannsdottir in 42nd with a 39.350.

Other all-arounders who featured in the top 10 here were Lottie Smith of Scotland in seventh with a 48.050 and Olivia Vättö of Finland in eighth with a 47.750. England’s strongest athlete was Poppy Blair in 12th with a 47.250, with the team slightly underperforming to finish fourth overall.

The apparatus finals saw Adalsteinsdottir winning all four gold medals, including vault with a 12.75 average, bars with a 12.8, beam with a 13.1, and floor with a 13.3. Slevin was also successful, winning the silver medal on floor along with a pair of bronze medals on bars and beam, while Adeliina Siikala of Finland won silver on vault, Mercedes Moore of England won silver on bars, Lockert won silver on beam, Hilton won bronze on vault, and Smith won bronze on floor.

In the men’s competition, Elias Koski of Finland topped the all-around podium with an 82.250, ahead of Sebastian Sponevik of Norway with a 79.300 for silver and Cameron Lynn of Scotland with a 77.950 for bronze. Despite some drama on floor, where Sofus Heggemsnes suffered an injury and was forced to scratch the remainder of the meet, the Norwegian team still managed to take the gold as a team with a 311.250, ahead of Ireland with a 309.650 for silver and Sweden with a 308.450 for bronze.

The gold medals in the apparatus finals went to Hamish Carter of Scotland with a 13.9 on floor, William Sundell of Sweden with a 14.2 on pommel horse, Luis Il-Sung Melander of Sweden with a 14.15 on rings, Sponevik with a 14.2 average on vault, Euan McLellan of Scotland with a 13.15 on parallel bars, and Koski with a 13.6 on high bar.

Article by Lauren Hopkins