Gennady Sartynsky, the head coach of Ukrainian MAG, said that Illia Kovtun, the 2020 junior AA European champion, is establishing himself as one of the team’s leaders:
“Illia is a very strong gymnast, one of the leaders. At the latest European Championships, Petro Pakhniuk won silver on parallel bars with 14.7, while Kovtun got 15.15 in Italy. At the Kyev Championships, Pakhniuk got, I think, 84 points in the all-around, and Kovtun got 87. Illia is already becoming one of the team’s leaders”.
Kovtun along with other Ukrainian MAG are competing in the Italian Serie A club competitions. While it’s hist first year competing as a senior, the team expects a lot from him, especially in the absence of Oleg Verniaiev who is still suspended. When asked if Kovtun will make the Olympic team, Sartynsky reiterated that the gymnast is currently leading in scores:
“I don’t see anyone stronger in the all-around on our team, and on individual events as well. He gets 15 on bars, while Pakhniuk who became our leader since Oleg Verniaiev[‘s absence] gets 14.5 – 14.7. I’m just telling you the scores and you think for yourself whether Illia can [make the Olympics] or not. And we’ll see what’s next. He has the highest difficulty on six events combined and he also has the ability to work of a young person. I expect these guys to have good results [at the European Championships]. If we were deciding today, he’d be on the Olympic team 100%, but what happens tomorrow – I don’t know.”
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