The Ukrainian artistic gymnastics team had a successful day in the apparatus finals at the Junior European Championships taking place in Zagreb (August 13–23). Ukrainian athletes have secured a total of four medals — two gold, one silver, and one bronze. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA citing the official European Gymnastics Instagram page. Such a "harvest" of medals has become one of the brightest episodes of the continental championship for the Ukrainian team.
Gold on the Vault: Havrylchenko — European Champion
18-year-old Ukrainian gymnast Valentyn Havrylchenko demonstrated the best result in the vault final. With a score of 13.616 points, the Ukrainian confidently took first place and won the title of Junior European Champion. The second step of the podium was taken by Austrian Samuel Wachter, while the "bronze" was won by Swiss representative Ben Schumacher. Victory in this event became the first gold medal for Ukraine in the apparatus finals at the current tournament.
Multimedalist: Golovin's Full Set
The main multimedalist of the tournament became 15-year-old Vladimir Golovin, who managed to collect a full set of medals in different disciplines. In the pommel horse event, he celebrated victory, scoring 13.900 points. Also in Vladimir's account is "silver" on the parallel bars (14.000 points) and "bronze" in the floor exercise (13.166 points). Thus, it was Golovin who brought three of the four medals of the day to the Ukrainian team, confirming his status as one of the most versatile juniors on the continent.
All-Around Final: The Battle Continues on August 23
On Sunday, August 23, Ukrainian champions will continue the fight for medals at the continental championship. Valentyn Havrylchenko and Vladimir Golovin will compete in the junior all-around final, where they will have to confirm their individual form and fight for the final medals of the tournament. This final will be the main event of the last day of the competition in Zagreb for the Ukrainian delegation.
Context: The Path to the 2026 World Championships and the Background of International Starts
The success in Zagreb fits into a broader context of the return of the Ukrainian men's gymnastics team to the ranks of leaders in international competitions: it was previously reported that the team qualified for the 2026 World Championships for the first time in three years. It is separately noted that open sources contain information about the earlier withdrawal of the Ukrainian team from the FIG tournament in Paris (2025) due to the participation of a Russian athlete; this episode refers to a different competition and does not affect the results of the current championship in Zagreb, but forms the general background of international relations in the discipline.
