Illia Kovtun often competes better in the finals than in the qualification. Today was no exception and he gained over 0.6 compared to his qualification score which was enough to finish 7th. Kovtun placed 15th in the qualification. However, a nagging shoulder injury affected his training and in the end he made several mistakes in the final, notably on parallel bars and high bar, which kept him out of the fight for bronze. Last year, Kovtun won bronze in the all-around behind Zhang Boheng and Hashimoto Daiki. This year, the two switched places with Hashimoto winning gold and Zhang silver, but the third place was taken by Hashimoto’s teammate Tanigawa Wataru.
Kovtun said he was happy with his performance and especially with the fact that he improved in the final:
“The final went quite well, my results were improved. There were some unsuccessful moments – on bars and a bit on high bar, but, overall, my performance was not bad.”
After the mistakes on parallel bars and high bar, Kovtun went on to do a pretty good floor routine. He said he was able to ignore the previous routines and start from scratch:
“My coach always says that if something doesn’t work, you shouldn’t get fixated on it, you have to cut it all out and start from scratch, not to bring the issues from one event to another.”
On pommel horse, his last event, Kovtun was able to do his full difficulty, something his wasn’t able to do in the qualification. However, several mistakes meant the execution score suffered:
“On the first day, I took out some elements and did an easier routine but on the second day, I guess, because it was the last event, it was already hard to get myself together, especially since it’s one of the most difficult events.”
Kovtun said he will get his shoulder injury checked after this competition:
“My shoulder is a bit better but, I guess, we’ll do some checkup or treatment now after the competition, so that it wouldn’t worsen and I keep showing good results.”
However, he is not getting much rest. Kovtun will compete in the Bundesliga for KTV Straubenhardt already next weekend. The next Bundesliga meet is the week after that. Kovtun is also scheduled to appear at the Swiss Cup on November 27th and since Artur Gander Memorial and Swiss Cup usually have the same roster, he will likely compete at the Memorial (on 23/11) as well.
Medalists and the top 8 in the all-around in Liverpool got a Superlambanana figurine instead of flowers. Kovtun said the figurine will be a nice souvenir:
“I consider it kind of a trophy from this competition. I haven’t gotten a medal at this competition but will still have some kind of a keepsake from it.”
