Ilia Kovtun wins two gold medals at European Gymnastics Championships

Croatian gymnast Ilia Kovtun achieved significant success at the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, winning two gold medals and two fourth-place finishes. This marked his first major competition since changing his citizenship from Ukrainian to Croatian.

Kovtun secured gold in the individual all-around and on the pommel horse, earning a score of 14.700 in the latter final. He narrowly missed additional medals, finishing fourth in both the floor exercise and the parallel bars. In the pommel horse final, he outperformed competitors such as Nazar Chepurin, while Ferhat Arican of Turkey took silver and Joe Fraser of the UK took bronze.

The championships also featured a new prize fund for finalists and coaches. Kovtun earned a total of 8,000 euros from his placements, while his coach, Irina Gorbaceva, received 2,500 euros for the two gold medals.