# Ilia Kovtun success and Croatian qualification for Worlds

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/ilia-kovtun-success-at-european-gymnastics-championships
> Updated: 2026-08-24T11:01:41.000Z. Sources: 34. Developments: 4.

At the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, gymnast Ilia Kovtun achieved historic success for Croatia. Kovtun, a Ukrainian-born athlete competing under the Croatian flag, won the men’s individual all-around gold medal by a margin of 0.001 points over Arsenii Duhno.

Kovtun secured two additional gold medals in the pommel horse final with a score of 14.700—defeating Nazar Chepurin, Ferhat Arican, and Joe Fraser—and in the parallel bars competition, succeeding Nils Dunkel, who was unable to compete due to a hand infection. Despite these victories, Kovtun finished fourth in both the floor exercise and the parallel bars in separate assessments. His performance earned him 8,000 euros in prize money, while his coach, Irina Gorbaceva, received 2,500 euros.

Other notable results in Zagreb included Joe Fraser of Great Britain winning the horizontal bar final, while Radomyr Stelmakh of Germany finished eighth after a fall. Nazar Chepurnyi of Ukraine took first place in the vault final with a score of 14.566. Due to interventions by the Croatian government, athletes from Russia and Belarus competed without national flags, anthems, or symbols, appearing under the designations ‘World Gymnastics 1’ and ‘World Gymnastics 2’ respectively.

Following the championships, eight Croatian gymnasts qualified for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam. These qualifiers include European all-around champion Ilia Kovtun, Mila Prpić, and Christina Zwicker, who secured spots through the all-around competition. Additional qualifiers include Tijana Korent, Sofia Mešter, Tina Zelčić, Tin Srbić, and Aurel Benović, who earned places via the World Cup series.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-24: Eight Croatian gymnasts qualify for World Championships in Rotterdam

Eight Croatian gymnasts, including Tin Srbić and Illia Kovtun, have qualified for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam this October.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/eight-croatian-gymnasts-qualify-for-world-championships-in-rotterdam

### 2026-08-22: Radomyr Stelmakh finishes eighth in horizontal bar final at European Gymnastics Championships

At the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, Radomyr Stelmakh placed eighth on the horizontal bar, while Illia Kovtun won gold on parallel bars for Croatia.

6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/radomyr-stelmakh-finishes-eighth-in-horizontal-bar-final-at-european-gymnastics-championships

### 2026-08-21: Ilia Kovtun wins two gold medals at European Gymnastics Championships

Gymnast Ilia Kovtun won two gold medals—in the all-around and pommel horse—at the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, his first major event representing Croatia.

8 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/ilia-kovtun-wins-second-european-gymnastics-gold-in-zagreb

### 2026-08-19: Illia Kovtun wins historic European gymnastics all-around gold for Croatia

Illia Kovtun won a historic all-around gold medal for Croatia at the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, while the 30th Plazma Sports Games for Youth drew thousands to Split.

23 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/youth-sports-achievements-in-croatia-and-new-talent-search-in-serbia

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Cite as: Ilia Kovtun success and Croatian qualification for Worlds. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/ilia-kovtun-success-at-european-gymnastics-championships