>> 1^st rotation:
- The future winner Dan Potra makes a mistake during his first acrobatic line (8.787), while the other favourites have a better start.

  >> 2^nd rotation:
- Bondarenko presents his pommel horse routine with a reduced level of difficulty – he doesn’t show the Russian wendeswing with Magyar travel, that means the E-element is missing which leads to a SV of only 9.4. His final score is a poor 8.775.
- Jordan Jovchev improves his results after a weak start on pommel horse with a great performance on rings: 9.712!!

>> 3^rd rotation:
- Jovchev nails the landing of his layout full-twisting Tsukahara on vault (SV 9.7) and receives the score of 9.337
- Jevgeni Podgorni (RUS), however, has major problems on rings with his strength holds but nonetheless sticks the landing of his well-performed triple-salto dismount (9.212)
- Bondarenko presents a very rarely seen dismount on rings with his layout double-double (his final score: 9.225)
- Potra shows a brilliant  routine on rings with a SV of 10.0 and solid strength holds: 9.512 points

However, Latvia’s Erik Revelinsh made less mistakes and up to now in the lead in front of Jordan Jovchev.

>> 4^th rotation:
- Podgorni sat down on the mat at the landing of his “Roche“ (handspring double tucked fwd.): 8.975
- Potra also had landing-problems on vault, a large step after his layout full-twisting Tsukahara (9.337)
- Bondarenko also had to make adjustments, but only slight ones, at the landing of his “Roche“ (9.512)
- Jovchev presented on bars the strong combination of shoot – uprise - double salto bwd. landed in upper arm hang, for this alone he gets a bonus of 5 tenth (the double salto even is upgraded from D to E): 9.187

However, after this rotation Bondarenko is in the lead in front of Jovchev and Potra, but the difference between the three is not more than one tenth.  

>> 5^th rotation:
- Potra presents a strong bars routine, with e.g. shoot– Makuz – 1 ½ straddle salto fwd. to support, that means this D-D-E combination alone brings him a bonus of 7 tenth; his final score: 9.262.
- Bondarenko, however, has problems on bars and makes quite a few slight corrections (9.15)
- Jovchev presents a disappointing routine on high bar with a SV of only 9.2, which means he had strongly reduced his level of difficulty, e.g. he doesn’t show his Gienger: Only 8.812 points.
- Podgorni presents on bars a rarely seen, because very difficult, dismount: Double salto fwd. with ½ turn. He receives the score of 9.287!

Before the last apparatus Potra is now in the lead with 5 hundredth in front of Bondarenko and 3 tenth in front of Jovchev.

>> 6^th rotation:
- On floor World champion Jovchev shows his great qualities and receives for his routine with a SV of 10.0 the highest score of the day: 9.7!
- On high bar also Bondarenko presents his routine with a reduced level of difficulty: Instead of a layout Kovacs he only shows a tucked one and from his usually triple-combination with counter-hecht – straddle Tkatchev – he leaves out the Gienger. With a SV of 9.6 he receives in the end 9.35 points which secures him the bronze medal, 11 thousandths behind Jovchev.
- Although he presents a high bar routine with the score of 9.462 Podgorni can’t reach him anymore...
- The last gymnast of the competition is the currently leading Dan Potra who was under pressure now as he had to present at least 9.35 points to win. He shows a good routine with many piked and el-grip variations and a start value of 9.8 for which he receives the score of 9.412 and

the Romanians can celebrate their second gold of this ECh and the first European all-around title in their history of men’s gymnastics.  

(The Greek hos publishes on their own website a video clip of high bar exercise of  Dan Potra:   ... Click here (Windows Media PLayer)

New records set in the ECH’s finals in Patras
Never before such a high amount of different finalists could be seen: Altogether 55 gymnasts from 19 countries have qualified for the all-around finals of the 24 best gymnasts and/ or the EF’s!

Only four nations took the opportunity to place the maximum of two gymnasts in the all-around final: POR, GEO, CZE, SWE.

Countries like FRA, SLO, POL, LAT, HUN don’t take part in the all-around final at all.

In the EF’s on Sunday gymnasts from 17 different nations will start, the gymnasts from the European team champion Romania managed to secure themselves 9 spots there.