German Gymnastics Federation names Olympic team
At the second Olympic qualifier in Rüsselsheim on Saturday (22/06/2024), Germany’s gymnasts were competing for the remaining few tickets to the upcoming Olympic Games being held in Paris in four weeks’ time. There were five starting places to award for the men, who had already qualified as a team. One women’s space still remained open for the trip to France.
The men’s all-around competition was exciting and tight with emotions running high. Timo Eder of MTV Ludwigsburg ultimately stood at the top of the podium. The bronze medal winner at the first qualifier during the Finals appeared satisfied to be consistently fulfilling his potential and to once again put in a good performance. ‘With his calm style, Timo demonstrated once again today that he can complete clean, solid gymnastics under pressure’, head coach Valeri Belenki noted about the 19-year-old’s performance. Just 0.4 points behind Eder (82,675 points) was Nils Dunkel of SV Halle, in second place. Third place, at half a point less, went to Glenn Trebing of TK Hannover. Saarland gymnasts Maxim Kovalenko (TV Bous) and Daniel Mouschidis (TV Schwalbach) finished in seventh and eleventh, unfortunately leaving them with few prospects of qualifying for the Olympics.
There was one shock in Rüsselsheim when Lukas Dauser of TSV Unterhaching, medal hopeful and world champion on the parallel bars, injured his right arm during a rings routine. Dauser subsequently withdrew from the competition and headed to Mainz for a checkup. We are still awaiting the sports doctor’s results and a precise diagnosis. Head coach Belenki was cautiously optimistic: ‘I am assuming that he is going to make it.’ But added: ‘Nevertheless, we will have a plan B.’ Belenki then announced his picks the day after the competition.
The German Gymnastics Federation has proposed the following gymnasts to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB):
Men
- Pascal Brendel (KTV Wetzlar)
- Lukas Dauser (TSV Unterhaching)
- Nils Dunkel (SV Halle)
- Timo Eder (MTV Ludwigsburg)
- Andreas Toba (TK Hannover)
Milan Hosseini (TG Böckingen), Glenn Trebing (TK Hannover) and Alexander Kunz (TSV Pfuhl) are standing by as alternates.
Among Germany’s female gymnasts, 16-year-old Helen Kevric of MTV Stuttgart won the all-around day competition, with Karina Schönmaier and Lea Marie Quaas in second and third. The eagerly awaited uneven bars faceoff between young Kevric and her club teammate, 30-year-old reigning German champion Elisabeth Seitz, went to the emerging talent. ‘Helen performed amazingly good gymnastics and truly showed nerves of steel’, record-breaking champion Seitz said of her rival’s routine. These points were most likely also crucial for head coach Gerben’s decision when awarding the final Olympics ticket: a few days after the competition, she named Helen Kevric as her proposed addition to take the final spot and join already qualified gymnasts Pauline Schäfer-Betz and Sarah Voss in Paris.
Women
- Helen Kevric (MTV Stuttgart)
- Pauline Schäfer-Betz (KTV Chemnitz)
- Sarah Voss (TZ DSHS Köln)
Elisabeth Seitz (MTV Stuttgart) and Karina Schönmaier (TuS Chemnitz-Altendorf) have been named as alternates.
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
On Saturday (29 June 2024), the national sports base in Fellbach-Schmiden hosted the German Gymnastics Federation’s decisive Olympic qualifier for rhythmic gymnastics. Germany’s top gymnasts competed for the sought-after Olympic tickets in tropical temperatures.
17-year-old Darja Varfolomeev of TSV Schmiden won the second Olympic qualification spot in a race that remained exciting right through to the finish. With 141,500 points, she beat out Margarita Kolosov of SC Potsdam (136,450 points). Varfolomeev thus gained a slightly higher score than her all-around performance at the German Championships.
Margarita Kolosov was also very satisfied with her performance: ‘My competition today went very well, without any losses with any of the four pieces of equipment. And all despite the temperature in the hall being 40 degrees, with extremely stuffy air and a very quick competition.’
The German Gymnastics Federation’s gymnasts had already completed an initial qualifier on 6 June in Frankfurt am Main as part of the Finals before the deciding qualifier in Fellbach-Schmiden. The Federation announced their rhythmic gymnastics team for the Olympic Games in Paris on the day of the final, deciding Olympics qualifier. At head coach Isabell Sawade’s recommendation, the Federation proposed the following gymnasts to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) for the Olympic Games in Paris:
Individual
- Darja Varfolomeev (TSV Schmiden)
- Margarita Kolosov (SC Potsdam)
Anastasia Simakova and Viktoria Steinfeld (both TSV Schmiden) are standing by as alternates.
Group
- Anja Kosan (SC Siemensstadt)
- Daniella Kromm (TSV Schmiden)
- Alina Oganesyan (TSV Schmiden)
- Hannah Vester (TB 1889 Oppau)
- Emilia Wickert (TSG Söflingen)
The alternate is Melanie Dargel (TG Worms).
It is down to the DOSB to officially nominate the gymnasts, and they will announce the names of the athletes going to Paris after their nomination meeting on 2 July.