Ukrainian men – both senior and junior – had a great time at the European Championships in Mersin and won both team golds and 13 individual medals. Gennady Sartynsky, the team’s head coach, said he expected those results:
“We expected this result since the guys were well-prepared for this competition. They performed well, both seniors and juniors. In the team competition, no one needed additional motivation – they knew they could win the gold. It’s great that we’ve managed to achieve this historic result. If we’re talking about the team results for the seniors, I’d rated Yevgen Yudenkov first. He performed above his capabilities and was the starter for the team, the person who was first on the events and had to perform his routines without big mistakes or falls. He did all six events for two days and didn’t have a single failure.”
“I’d rate Igor Radivilov the second – he did his two events the way he was supposed to. He won gold on vault and finished third on rings but in a difficult competition. It’s an event that can be judged differently but in my opinion, he did everything well. And he did really well for the team results. I’d note Petro Pahniuk who recently had an injury the third. He’s one of our strongest all-arounders. Vladyslav Hryko performed slightly worse. It seemed that he was mentally ready but it was still hard because he had not competed in a long time. The nerves and anxiety were there. Although in the end, he got himself together and did all of his routines. We took Roman Vashchenko to a competition of such a level for the first time. He had COVID-19 two-three weeks before the European Championships but managed to recover and prepare. Roman even competed on one event in the final – on rings with which we were finishing the competition. He did a good job. We are counting on him for the future European and World Championships and Olympic Games.”
Roman Vashchenko was put on the team at the last minute after the withdrawal of Oleg Verniaiev. Earlier, Gennady Sartynsky told media that Verniaiev was skipping the competition due to minor injuries, which seemed quite out of character – Verniaiev is known to compete through injuries, even quite serious ones. It appears that there might have been another reason for the withdrawal. In the FIG Athletes Database, Oleg Verniaiev is currently listed as suspended. The FIG has been reached for comment but the federation’s officials are currently unavailable due to being on holiday break. Oleg Verniaiev did not comment publicly on his absence at the European Championships or the possible suspension.
Vashchenko was not the only Ukrainian athlete competing post-Covid. Diana Varinska said she also had COVID-19 a few weeks before the competition and this affected her preparation and performance negatively.
Sartynsky also mentioned that the Ukrainian teams had financial issues and had to ask the National Olympic Committee to pay for the trip to Euros:
“The Ukrainian National Olympic Committee, as usual, responded to our requests. We had problems with fundings because it is the end of the year now, everyone has such problems, so they helped us financially. The NOC found funds for us because not everyone could contribute the required amount. Each athlete had to pay three thousands euros to participate at these competitions. Thanks to this [help] we were able to take a doctor with us and basically paid for the whole women’s team. I am very grateful because they [the NOC} are always with us and listen to our needs.”
Sartynsky said he was not surprised with with achievements of Illia Kovtun who won five golds and a silver:
“Overall, Illia Kovtun did not surprise me. I can’t say he did everything great. His performance was not his best. That’s because he hasn’t competed in a long time. And for the young ones, it’s much harder to go through such challenges. I knew that at the moment, Illia is one of the strongest gymnasts not just in Europe but in the world as well. That was proved at the Junior World Championships where he was third in the all-around. And now he already has his whole adult routines ready – after all, juniors have eight elements counted, while it’s ten elements for adults. Illia’s difficulty is one of the highest in Ukraine. Only our best gymnasts have comparable difficulty. He surprised not us but the judges by showing such level of difficulty on parallel bars, pommel horse, and high bar. Almost on all events. I also want to note Volodymyr Kostiuk but he wasn’t able to do his maximum because injuries prevented it. But it was the two of them who set the tone of these championships.”
Kostiuk said he had to limit his training in the weeks leading to the championships because of a shoulder injury:
“The team medal was the most memorable one because the whole team is working hard there and you’re nervous. But there isn’t much worry when you’re an individual.”
“Because of a shoulder injury, I had not been training for three weeks before the European Championships. Well, I had been but not too much, not according to the full plan. Because of that, I simply did not have enough strength on the third day of the competition. The event finals day was the hardest for me.”
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