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Ukraine narrowly won the men's European Gymnastics team title in Rimini on Sunday ahead of Great Britain, with the hosts Italy taking bronze.

Led by Illia Kovtun, Oleh Verniaiev, Nazar Chepurnyi, Ihor Radivilov, and Radomyr Stelmakh, the Ukrainian team amassed a total of 255.762 points, edging past the next-best team, Great Britain, by a margin of 0.3 points.

James Hall, Joe Fraser, Harry Hepworth, Courtney Tulloch, and Jake Jarman delivered exceptional routines under pressure, bringing the final right down to the wire for Great Britain. However, it was Ukraine who ultimately secured the gold by less than half a mark, with home favourites Italy settling for the bronze medal.

Hall summed up the teams reaction saying: “I’m hugely proud of this group, we go through so much and to score so highly, clean routine throughout. No disappointment at all in missing out on gold. Winning any medal at all for Great British feels very very special. We’re so close and we’re all on a journey together as one and we’ve achieved so much.”

The GB team kicked off their performance on the floor, with Tulloch leading the way with a strong start, earning a score of 13.933. Jarman followed with an impressive score of 14.6, showcasing his twisting skills, while Hall rounded off with a meticulously executed routine, scoring 14.033 for the team.

Great Britain had to settle for silver at the men's European gymnastics in Rimini, Italy. GETTY IMAGES
Great Britain had to settle for silver at the men's European gymnastics in Rimini, Italy. GETTY IMAGES

On the pommel horse, Jake commenced with a polished routine, earning a score of 14.066, while Hall demonstrated remarkable composure to maintain control throughout his routine, scoring 13.466. Fraser, who faced challenges on the pommel in qualifying, redeemed himself in the final with a triumphant roar of emotion upon successfully completing his routine, earning a score of 14.5. Transitioning to the rings, Jake initiated the rotation with a score of 12.866, followed by ring experts Tulloch and Hepworth, both scoring an impressive 14.5 with their superb routines.

Courtney proceeded to the vault, executing a high-difficulty routine despite a slight step on landing, earning a score of 14.633. Following suit, Hepworth delivered a flawless vault, sticking the landing perfectly and scoring 15 points. European vault champion Jake Jarman showcased yet another display of world-class vaulting, earning an impressive score of 15.5 for the team. Overall, it was a fantastic vault rotation for the team.

On the parallel bars, James Hall displayed composure and confidence in his performance, earning a score of 14.6, while Jake maintained his strong form throughout the championships, scoring 14.133. Fraser then delivered an impressive routine, scoring 14.8, which propelled GB into a narrow lead as they headed into the final apparatus.

On the high bar, James executed his routine with grace, earning a score of 13.8. Joe demonstrated excellent skill, maintaining his swing and navigating his routine adeptly to score 13.133. Finally, Jarman faced immense pressure but maintained his composure, delivering a superbly controlled routine and scoring 13.366.

Ukraine clinched gold overall ahead of GB who came extremely close. GETTY IMAGES
Ukraine clinched gold overall ahead of GB who came extremely close. GETTY IMAGES

While the Ukrainians emerged as the overall victors, Kovtun delivered the standout performance in the high bar event. For the second consecutive day, Kovtun improved upon his personal best in this event, achieving a total score of 15.800 points for his 7.0 routine. Verniaiev also showcased a strong performance, securing the third-best result in the event with 14.833 points. This marks Ukraine's second triumph in team events at the European Championships, following their initial victory in 2020.

Kovtun achieved another remarkable feat by securing three medals in the Championships for the second time. On the same day, he claimed the title of European champion in both the uneven bars and parallel bars events. In total, Ukraine amassed six medals during the Championships: three gold, two silver, and one bronze.

During Saturday's apparatus finals, Kovtun emerged victorious in both the parallel bars and horizontal bar events, while Britain's world vault champion, Jake Jarman, clinched the gold in the vault competition.

On Friday, Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias, the Olympic champion from Rio 2016, secured his seventh European still rings title. Meanwhile, Britain's Luke Whitehouse successfully defended his floor title, and Ireland's Rhys McClenaghan retained his pommel horse crown.

Thursday's all-around competition was won by Marios Georgiou. The Cypriot went on to claim three apparatus medals - parallel bars silver, pommel horse bronze and horizontal bar bronze.