German gymnastics team optimistic about European Championships in Rimini despite health issues
From Wednesday to Sunday (24 to 28 April 2024), the best gymnasts in Europe will be meeting in Italy’s Adriatic coastal city of Rimini to enter the 36th Men’s European Championships 2024 in Artistic Gymnastics. The women follow a week later with the 35th European Championships in Artistic Gymnastics (2 to 5 May 2024), also in Rimini. More than 300 athletes from around 37 countries will be competing for sought-after medals in the individual, team and all-around competitions. The European Championships are also the last major test before the Olympic Games this summer in Paris.
New faces for German Gymnastics Federation men
The German gymnastics team’s male squad had to change its plans at short notice for the European Championships. Just a few days after announcing the nominations, head coach Valeri Belenki was forced to rearrange his team for the European Gymnastics Championships: unfortunately, both parallel bars world champion Lukas Dauser and Lucas Kochan were forced to withdraw due to health issues and an injury. The loss of both is a huge blow for the team, but also offers opportunities for other athletes.
Kochan ruptured a cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training camp and will be out for an extended period. He will miss the European Championships, as well as the Olympic Games in Paris. For the German men’s team at the European Championships, the loss of the 23-year-old army sport soldier means that previous individual starter Milan Hosseini – who won the bronze medal on the floor at the 2023 European Championships in Antalya, Turkey – is returning to the squad for the team competition. The place this frees up among the individual starters will be occupied by Gabriel Eichhorn, who competes for TG Saar in the federal gymnastics league. This will be the 18-year-old’s first senior European Championships.
Lukas Dauser, who was looking forward to the European Championships and had already won a gold medal on his favourite apparatus at the World Challenge Cup in Osijek, is out of contention due to acute influenza paired with a bacterial infection. 25-year-old Carlo Hörr will be replacing the world champion on the parallel bars. This will also be his first senior European Championships. The exact lineup for the team and individual compositions will be decided after podium training in Rimini.
Despite these challenges, the team remains optimistic and is looking forward to the upcoming competitions. Experienced gymnasts Andreas Toba, Pascal Brendel and Nils Dunkel mean that the team is still strong with high expectations. Head coach Valeri Belenki appears satisfied with preparations and expects Hosseini to be potentially competing in the floor finals.
Men’s European Gymnastic Championships timetable
| 24 April 2024 | Team and apparatus qualifications, all-around finals |
| 26 April 2024 | Apparatus finals part 1 |
| 27 April 2024 | Apparatus finals part 2 |
| 28 April 2024 | Team finals |
Young women’s team nominated for European Championships
The women’s squad for the European Gymnastics Championships from 2 to 5 May 2024, also in Rimini (Italy), have just been nominated by the heads of the German Gymnastics Federation. The young German gymnastics team will be led by Karina Schönmaier, in her first qualification. Marlene Gotthardt, Helen Kevric, Janoah Müller and Silja Stöhr complete the team. Lisa Wötzel is the alternate.
Women’s coach Gerben Wiersma emphasised that team performance will be the priority, and that they will be putting a young, strong squad forward for the European Championships. He was optimistic regarding their chances in both the team and apparatus finals, and positive about the upcoming continental competitions.
Women’s European Gymnastic Championships timetable
| 02 May 2024 | Team and apparatus qualifications, all-around final |
| 04 May 2024 | Apparatus finals |
| 05 May 2024 | Team finals |