Illia Kovtun Makes HISTORY! 2026 European Gymnastics Championships Day 1 l Episode 113

So I'm about to go on a rant about the dumbest rule in gymnastics, and that is what qualifies a stick.

This is the Neutral Deductions Podcast, men's gymnastic news, coverage, and analysis.

Elliot Cofton is the new European all-around champion.

World Gymnastics 2 leads quals, and it's not even close.

And the rest of the world qualifiers have been named.

For those new here, I'm Kinsley, the host of Neutral Redactions, a podcast all about men's gymnastics.

This is episode 113, where I recap the all-around final and qualifications of the 2026 European Gymnastics Championships.

Coming in, the two big headlines were the return of Ilya Kovtun under a new flag for Croatia and the Russians competing for the first time in five years under the banner of World Gymnastics 2.

Before the competition even got started, we did get the news that reigning all-around champion Adam Azil had withdrawn and the Turkish federation said the Sevilla translation.

He is experiencing anxiety, particularly during his finishing moves.

This anxiety could lead to an irreversible injury for our athlete.

We made the decision to protect our athletes.

So the withdrawal was first announced, at least on English media by international gymnasts.

And then I saw the follow-up by gymnastics now with this particular quote.

So thank you to them for providing that insight.

I'll also note that Spain did not show up with Yul Plata.

He was replaced by a different athlete due to some sort of injury that had happened in a training camp.

And Reza Pata, who's the Olympic silver medalist on floor, also didn't perform.

And I have heard from a couple different sources that he was experiencing an injury from podium training.

So just keep all of those athletes in your mind.

So I'm about to go on a rant about the dumbest rule in gymnastics, and that is what qualifies a stick.

This is the Neutral Deductions Podcast, men's gymnastic news, coverage, and analysis.

Elliot Cofton is the new European all-around champion.

World Gymnastics 2 leads quals, and it's not even close.

And the rest of the world qualifiers have been named.

For those new here, I'm Kinsley, the host of Neutral Redactions, a podcast all about men's gymnastics.

This is episode 113, where I recap the all-around final and qualifications of the 2026 European Gymnastics Championships.

Coming in, the two big headlines were the return of Ilya Kovtun under a new flag for Croatia and the Russians competing for the first time in five years under the banner of World Gymnastics 2.

Before the competition even got started, we did get the news that reigning all-around champion Adam Azil had withdrawn and the Turkish federation said the Sevilla translation.

He is experiencing anxiety, particularly during his finishing moves.

This anxiety could lead to an irreversible injury for our athlete.

We made the decision to protect our athletes.

So the withdrawal was first announced, at least on English media by international gymnasts.

And then I saw the follow-up by gymnastics now with this particular quote.

So thank you to them for providing that insight.

I'll also note that Spain did not show up with Yul Plata.

He was replaced by a different athlete due to some sort of injury that had happened in a training camp.

And Reza Pata, who's the Olympic silver medalist on floor, also didn't perform.

And I have heard from a couple different sources that he was experiencing an injury from podium training.

So just keep all of those athletes in your mind.