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  GOLD FOR RUSSIA:  A successful title holding, but...

 At the beginning it didn’t look like it at all:  
The Russians messed up completely two of their three floor routines and found themselves to their own surprise on the 9th place!  
Then, however, they proved that they were the favourites, took the lead on vault and kept it until the end, even when they showed a little lack of concentration on their last  apparatus high bar.
 Head coach Leonid Arkayev during the press conference: “My boys have been very nervous here, but improved very well during the competition! This competition has proved that European men’s gymnastics has a very high standard!“ 

    . ..the sensation: Silver for Switzerland!
The Swiss team was truly flying high. Their best gymnast Niki Boeschenstein said after the competition: ”From the beginning on we didn’t make a mistake and it was a fantastic feeling when we realised that the start went well.” From all teams, the Swiss one presented the most consistent program and in this modus of 3/3 (all scores count) this certainly was of a “silver” meaning. The Swiss coach Bernhard Fluck said: “Incredible! Being here as the responsible coach for the juniors for the first time and then right winning silver... but I have to say that it is the team spirit of my team which has brought us this success”!  

By the way, there was a hint to this Swiss success already at their victory at the traditional competition against France, Germany and Great Britain in Scotland a few weeks ago.  

...(almost) even better than two years ago: Again the bronze medal for Germany!

Also Germany’s junior team started without mistakes on pommel horse, René Piephard from Berlin was their best gymnast here and secured himself a spot in the final with his score of 9.3.

  On rings in general the judging was the most strictest. At first, Robert Weber started with a weak routine and the score of 7.837, then more consistent ones from Piephardt and Fabian Hambüchen followed. However, the Germans then found themselves on rank 7...!

  Now the boys knew: They had to fight! And René Piephardt did this very well on vault, even though his full-twisting layout Tsukahara only has a start value of 9.3. After him Matthias Fahrig earned the first score about 9.0 for the German team with the same vault (9.087). But then Fabian Hambüchen somehow didn’t reach the middle of the spring board and couldn’t support his vault properly – and so instead of the planned double-twisting Yurchenko (SV 9.7) he only managed to present a full-twisting one (SV 8.7). Due to that, sensitive 7.775 went into the team result of the Germans... The 5th place still was quite far away from a medal. It is remarkable how the boys continued fighting here.

Remark: That was lucky!!
Somehow the German juniors on vault were threatened by the fatal crash to rank 13. At the vault of Hambüchen it might have been the case that he only supported it with one hand on the apparatus. However, a support with one arm is forbidden according to the rules and would be judged with 0 points. But the judging panel couldn’t really agree on it yesterday and the competition meanwhile continued. Then also the awards ceremony followed.... and eventually there was nothing to change about it anymore ... That was lucky!!!

  At last: Bars became the super-apparatus of the Germans, although it is the most difficult one for all of them. On this apparatus, they received the highest score for their team on this day.
René Piephardt started and brought the necessary calmness into the team with his steady routine: 8.937 (SV 9.3). Fabian Hambüchen earned an even higher score: 9.087 (SV 9.4) and then Waldemar Eichorn even went one better with his performance: 9.275 (SV 9.7). This meant at that point of time rank four and the bronze medal within sight...!

On high bar René Piephardt again proved to be a brilliant starter for his team: 9.075 (SV 9.5) and a spot in the final also on this apparatus.

Waldi Eichorn received the score of 8.95 (SV 9.3) but then 

Fabian Hambüchen missed the bar only a tiny little bit at his layout jaeger with 1/1 turn – flight element gone –0.2; bonus points gone –0.2 and – and instead of the planned start value of 9.6 he only received the start value of 9.2. In addition to this, the fall from the apparatus had to be counted and in the end he received 8.325 points. However, also other teams made mistakes and so the high bar result secured the 3rd place for the German team before the last apparatus floor. 

<< René Piephardt from the Club SC Berlin
     - best German and second in AA qualification

  Floor: Now they were in the lead by about half of a point and this had to be secured! René Piephardt again started with a solid routine (SV 9.3): 8.737. Matthias Fahrig competed well and steady (SV 9.6) and improved the team result with 8.875 points. Fabian Hambüchen presented his first acrobatic series with a slightly decreased level of difficulty (SV 9.5 instead of 9.8) but nonetheless secured the loudly-cheered bronze medal for the German team with his score of 9.115 which even brought him a spot in the floor final. With his 12th place in the individual ranking he also will take part in the all-around final.

  Bronze and 7 spots in the finals – a performance of the German juniors which can again give some hope to the future of Germany’s men’s gymnastics!

  René Piephardt: “Unfortunately not everything went well today, but nonetheless we have fought strongly and in the end we made it to win the bronze medal.“ On a question during the press conference if the Germans could have won the gold medal when they wouldn’t have made any mistakes, Piephardt replied very clever: “Gold...? Mainly, we wanted to confirm our own level of performance here... that was the most important!“

Germany’s head coach Andreas Hirsch stressed the good fight of his team and the very young age of his athletes. As well Waldemar Eichorn as also Fabian Hambüchen will still be able to start in the junior’s level in two years.

Bericht: Eckhard Herholz 
nach Informationen von Jens Milbradt
Translation: Lisa Worthmann

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