European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships

:00:41. > :00:47.Last weekend saw the women take centre stage in Sofia, Bulgaria, and

:00:48. > :00:55.what a couple of days it turned out to be.

:00:56. > :01:04.COMMENTATOR: Greg written, silver medallists! Becky Downie is the

:01:05. > :01:11.European Championship can hello and welcome to our second weekend of

:01:12. > :01:14.action from the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. I am

:01:15. > :01:17.joined once again by six time European champion Beth Tweddle.

:01:18. > :01:24.Lovely to see you again. Obviously you have spoken to the team since

:01:25. > :01:28.they got back? Yes, when you are out there, it is a bit of a blur.

:01:29. > :01:32.Whether you can achieve your goals is another thing, but the British

:01:33. > :01:39.team achieved amazing results, obviously. I spoke to Amanda, and

:01:40. > :01:43.she has gone from being my personal coach to being the national coach,

:01:44. > :01:48.being in charge of it all. I think she breathed a sigh of relief. She

:01:49. > :01:51.had seen them doing all of the hard work in training, she had prepared

:01:52. > :01:56.them how she wanted to, and it was just a case of, would it work? The

:01:57. > :01:59.first thing she said was, I have got to work harder, with the

:02:00. > :02:05.Commonwealths coming up. But a bit of a break for a key Downie, who got

:02:06. > :02:11.the gold, and her sister as well in the juniors. Yes, it was a double

:02:12. > :02:15.celebration. Rebecca has had her ups and downs over the past couple of

:02:16. > :02:20.years, missing out on London, but I am sure last weekend will have taken

:02:21. > :02:24.over that little bit. I think they have had a couple of days chilling

:02:25. > :02:30.out, and her focus will now turn to the Commonwealth Games. And a good

:02:31. > :02:33.feeling for you, then bastion mark we all wondered what would happen to

:02:34. > :02:40.the women's British team when you did retire. Yes, obviously, people

:02:41. > :02:45.were thinking, where is the next medal going to come from? We always

:02:46. > :02:49.knew that we had the talent. I was never worried about them at all. It

:02:50. > :02:55.was nice to see those results, through next weekend. Without a

:02:56. > :02:58.doubt. As we say, an outstanding performance from our women. The

:02:59. > :03:01.pressure now transfers to the men, who have had plenty to smile about

:03:02. > :03:19.at these Championships over the past couple of years.

:03:20. > :03:35.COMMENTATOR: That is good work. That was a massive routine!

:03:36. > :03:50.Perfect. Daniel Keatings's gold medal position... ! Great routine,

:03:51. > :03:57.job done. Sam Oldham, silver on high bar. Max Whitlock takes gold. What

:03:58. > :04:02.of performance from our British gymnasts. And no doubt plenty of

:04:03. > :04:06.good bits to look forward to this afternoon as well. Let's see what is

:04:07. > :04:12.in store. Next we will have highlights of yesterday's men's team

:04:13. > :04:14.final. Great Britain looking to defend their title from 2012. That

:04:15. > :04:37.will be followed by... Well, this GB team have a lot of

:04:38. > :04:41.international experience between them, so let's hear from the famous

:04:42. > :04:48.five that are aiming to retain the European team title.

:04:49. > :04:53.We have all been training together for years. We have had really good

:04:54. > :04:58.preparation, we are all experienced gymnasts, we know how to handle the

:04:59. > :05:05.pressure. We are all looking forward to the final. We bounce off each

:05:06. > :05:09.other so well in training. We are all so close, and training together

:05:10. > :05:15.at Lilleshall before major competitions helps a lot. In London,

:05:16. > :05:22.when we got that bronze, that team aspect of everything is always, for

:05:23. > :05:26.me I think there is more depth in the squad. Obviously, we had Lewis

:05:27. > :05:33.Smith, who was amazing, but if there was an injury, in this team, we have

:05:34. > :05:36.people that can cover. In 2012, the French team, one of the guys got

:05:37. > :05:40.injured on the vault, and they did not have any cover. But if one of us

:05:41. > :05:47.got injured, anybody could step up and cover. This might not be quite

:05:48. > :05:52.as important, but for the World Championships, there will be five up

:05:53. > :05:55.and four scores to count, and I think that is when we can show how

:05:56. > :05:59.much depth we have got in our country. Not many countries do that

:06:00. > :06:05.any more, really. Individually, they are very, very strong. But for us,

:06:06. > :06:09.we know that we are a really strong team as a unit together. We have

:06:10. > :06:14.seen them training day in, day out, and they have got some big skills.

:06:15. > :06:18.It is going to be close. Coming into 2012, we knew we had a shout of

:06:19. > :06:25.winning the gold medal, but that was not the aim. This time around, our

:06:26. > :06:30.aim is to retain that title. We know how everything is going to go, we

:06:31. > :06:35.know the order off by heart. We are really confident going into this.

:06:36. > :06:40.The last Europeans I did was 2010, when we got the silver medal. I have

:06:41. > :06:44.not got the team gold yet, so I want to get that and defend the title.

:06:45. > :06:48.For those that are new to the scoring of this, it is made up of

:06:49. > :06:53.two things, difficulty and execution. As far as that is

:06:54. > :06:56.concerned, we have some of the most difficult routines in Europe, but

:06:57. > :07:00.how do you maintain that consistency? It is difficult, you

:07:01. > :07:06.are thinking, do I go for the extra difficulty, and accept the risk? But

:07:07. > :07:10.our lads are experienced, they have all been in this three up, three to

:07:11. > :07:15.count situation when the pressure is on. It is a question of what is best

:07:16. > :07:22.for the team, who do we put up, what order do we put them up? And it is a

:07:23. > :07:26.long way around, when you have got six pieces, 18 performances in

:07:27. > :07:29.total. Yes, if there is one mistake, it is about getting the team spirit

:07:30. > :07:34.back together and sorting it. Talking of which, the only

:07:35. > :07:39.difference really between the Olympic team and what you see here

:07:40. > :07:43.is the replacement of Lewis Smith with Daniel Keatings. We know that

:07:44. > :07:46.Lewis is back in training and aiming for a place on the Commonwealth team

:07:47. > :07:55.for England. This was him just a couple of months ago, and looking

:07:56. > :07:59.good. But like the lads were saying, if you do pick up an injury, you

:08:00. > :08:09.need another member on your team to be able to cover that. And

:08:10. > :08:14.unfortunately, at the moment, Louis is not able to cover all of those.

:08:15. > :08:18.Well Daniel has six European medals, is a good man to have in the team!

:08:19. > :08:23.This is how it is going to work. You have got eight teams, great Britain

:08:24. > :08:28.qualified top, almost three marks ahead of Russia, a very strong team

:08:29. > :08:34.in themselves, but who made a few errors on the day. Ukraine qualified

:08:35. > :08:38.third, and the Netherlands qualified sixth, making their first team

:08:39. > :08:45.final, ahead of Germany, who were team champions back in 2010. Let's

:08:46. > :08:50.have a look at the five gymnasts who are competing for Russia and

:08:51. > :08:53.Ukraine, Team GB's biggest rivals. The most powerful gymnast I think in

:08:54. > :08:58.Europe, Ablyazin, he will be outstanding. You have got lots of

:08:59. > :09:03.others is well, like Belyavskiy. Really making to look their mark.

:09:04. > :09:06.Then, Ukraine, well, they were pushed out of the medals in the

:09:07. > :09:11.Olympics in 2012, with Britain getting the bronze. It was touch and

:09:12. > :09:14.go whether this team would make it, because they were short of funding,

:09:15. > :09:21.but they managed to get the money together, and here they are. The

:09:22. > :09:26.countries are working in pairs, with Ukraine competing alongside Britain.

:09:27. > :09:30.They are going to be starting on wings, and that is where we will

:09:31. > :09:31.begin our highlights. Over to Christine Still and Craig Heap in

:09:32. > :09:44.our commentary box. CHRISTINE STILL: Up first for Great

:09:45. > :09:49.Britain, Max Whitlock. CRAIG HEAP: Into the swinging

:09:50. > :09:51.elements, very nice, into the crucifix position. Held for the

:09:52. > :10:03.required team. Time. Forward long swing. Great style in

:10:04. > :10:38.the handstand. Working well. Just need to hold the form. Double

:10:39. > :10:42.twisting, double back! Oh, a roll on dismount, that will be costly for

:10:43. > :10:46.Max Whitlock. That will be very expensive one hallmark deduction for

:10:47. > :10:59.the fall. It was such a shame, it was a lovely routine. He is the

:11:00. > :11:02.current British champion, and he was the previous year as well, and he is

:11:03. > :11:09.usually a really solid competitor, as he is showing here. Very good

:11:10. > :11:13.style, very good control. But this, the double twisting double Tuck, a

:11:14. > :11:20.very difficult dismount and he just did not open up in time to land. .

:11:21. > :11:27.That is the fine balance on the rings, being able to control, and

:11:28. > :11:40.then it is the swinging element. That puts the others under pressure.

:11:41. > :11:49.From Holland, Jeffrey Wammes. Highest ever guilty, very powerful

:11:50. > :11:55.gymnast. And coming to the pommel horse, for Russia,

:11:56. > :11:58.Nikolai?Kuksenkov. Straight into the single legwork. Good control into

:11:59. > :12:21.the handstand. Into the Wendy swing. This is great

:12:22. > :12:37.difficulty, travelling along the horse. Travelling back down the

:12:38. > :12:46.horse. Keeping the momentum. Well, great start from the young Russian.

:12:47. > :12:50.Very solid performance. Never really looked in danger at all, looked

:12:51. > :12:56.totally confident. Really good work here. Clearing the pommel horse

:12:57. > :13:06.easily, showing good amplitude, good extension. Good start. And Jeffrey

:13:07. > :13:23.Wammes, a good piece to start on, the vault, it is quite high-scoring.

:13:24. > :13:46.The final gymnast for Russia. He gets on with the job. A bit of a

:13:47. > :13:53.loss of form. Again, travelling down the horse. Down and up across the

:13:54. > :13:58.handles. Combining the travels, to build the difficulty. Up into

:13:59. > :14:05.handstand. A little bit laboured on that dismount. Not the cleanest

:14:06. > :14:25.routine. Good style, feet well locked together. Very happy gymnast.

:14:26. > :14:31.Anything over 14 is a good school, anything over 15, exceptional. Next,

:14:32. > :14:43.the big rings specialist Igor Radivilov. Look at this for

:14:44. > :14:53.strength. Flat as a pancake. Into the Malteseno deviation in the

:14:54. > :15:05.shoulders whatsoever. And without salute these. Suddenly and with

:15:06. > :15:12.absolute ease. Solid in the handstand. Great into the inverted

:15:13. > :15:38.crucifix. He wind it up. Double twisting

:15:39. > :15:46.double back. Nailed to the floor. What a routine! Almost unbelievable

:15:47. > :15:51.strength, to just lift and hold your body like that. Then the double

:15:52. > :16:04.double, really cleanly performed. Great stuff. Radivilov, fantastic

:16:05. > :16:06.performance. The Netherlands are top, they started an vault ahead of

:16:07. > :16:32.Ukraine. Daniel Purvis on the end of the

:16:33. > :16:39.runway. He knows Great Britain need a steady showing here.

:16:40. > :16:48.Very nicely done indeed. Beautifully down the centre. Stratospheric vault

:16:49. > :16:58.for Dan Purvis. I think he struggled in qualification with the vault, but

:16:59. > :17:02.that was spot-on. Two and a half twists, nearly nailed the landing.

:17:03. > :17:11.Dead in the middle, one step to the side. He will be delighted with

:17:12. > :17:16.that. He made a bit of an error on the vault in qualification. That's a

:17:17. > :17:22.good start for the British guys. Sam Oldham is the next gymnast out

:17:23. > :17:39.for Great Britain. 5.6 difficulty. Good two and a half. Just

:17:40. > :17:44.shuffle on landing. Lovely style. This is what vaulting is all about.

:17:45. > :17:49.That was absolute textbook technique and quality. Really difficult to do

:17:50. > :17:53.the two and a half twists. It's a blind landing. If you don't get your

:17:54. > :17:59.head round in time... Just look at this, powers on, wraps in, legs

:18:00. > :18:07.glued together. Superb! Look at the height. Spot the flaw. We will have

:18:08. > :18:18.some of that! Not too many deductions on that.

:18:19. > :18:29.Kristian Thomas. He really needs to be controlled here.

:18:30. > :18:37.Just a tiny bit short. Just perhaps a little bit too controlled. He will

:18:38. > :18:42.have crunched his ankles a little bit there. Walking just a bit

:18:43. > :18:49.gingerly back. That will be a costly mistake for Christian. -- Kristian

:18:50. > :19:07.Thomas. The same start a lot of gymnasts are

:19:08. > :19:12.favouring. Circle to Maltese, back-up to Maltese. The highest

:19:13. > :19:19.difficulty we have seen so far. And he can swing. Look at that.

:19:20. > :19:21.Yamawaki, back up rise to the top plunge. And another circle round to

:19:22. > :19:37.the crucifix. This is unbelievable strength. Great

:19:38. > :19:40.line in the handstand, locks out there. There is a backward long

:19:41. > :19:52.swing. Double twisting, double back

:19:53. > :19:57.straight. Well, what a performance! A really solid routine there. Really

:19:58. > :20:05.powerful performance. He is the second gymnast up for Russia. The

:20:06. > :20:09.first gymnast scoring high. This is a very strong piece for the Russian

:20:10. > :20:16.team. They qualified top on it. Lovely dismount. Kristian Thomas,

:20:17. > :20:38.very disappointed with himself. Abliazin, a massive score, the

:20:39. > :20:51.highest we've seen today so far. Here we see Alexandra Balandin.

:20:52. > :21:02.Great strength, straight through the crucifix.

:21:03. > :21:23.Yamawaki, back-up to the Maltese. A lifting of the head there.

:21:24. > :21:33.Can he control the handstand? A slight flicker. Full twisting double

:21:34. > :21:34.straight. Slight hop back on the landing but another fantastic

:21:35. > :21:48.performance from the Russian team. Wow, Russia have linked together

:21:49. > :21:53.three scores all over 15. After two rotations, Russia have taken the

:21:54. > :21:57.lead. Unfortunately, we didn't see the vaults from the Ukraine, but

:21:58. > :22:13.they pushed on and vaulted well into second place.

:22:14. > :22:22.David Belyavskiy knows he needs to fault really well here.

:22:23. > :22:30.He does it beautifully. The Tsukahara, the double Tsukahara. He

:22:31. > :22:36.came out of that exactly the right time. Look at the power. Strikes the

:22:37. > :22:46.front of the horse, wraps in two and a half, opens out, perfect! That

:22:47. > :22:53.should go well into the 15s. It does. That won't harm the Russian

:22:54. > :23:02.total at all. Abliazin nominating a six difficulty.

:23:03. > :23:11.Slightly off-line, but look how long and high that vault was. That was

:23:12. > :23:21.into the rafters! Technically better than the one before.

:23:22. > :23:31.15.366. Abliazin really superb vaulting. Sam Oldham for Great

:23:32. > :23:40.Britain. He is to settle his nerves and keep composed. Come on! Into the

:23:41. > :23:49.handstand. There is the under somersault with a half turn. Under

:23:50. > :23:54.somersault again. Into the upper arm, back up rise to the handstand.

:23:55. > :23:57.Long swing double back, highest difficulty. Great height above the

:23:58. > :24:16.bars. Another Healy turn. Come on, hold it

:24:17. > :24:23.steady. Double pike. Just what we needed. Good routine from Sam

:24:24. > :24:29.Oldham. Steadied his nerves, there were just a couple of occasions

:24:30. > :24:35.where a little flutter... But he fought on through. He is such a

:24:36. > :24:47.stylish gymnast. Really controlled himself well. He fought well.

:24:48. > :24:52.Epke Zonderland for the Netherlands. Olympic champion goes to the high

:24:53. > :25:12.bar. Full twisting straight over the high

:25:13. > :25:14.bar. And talked. And into the Gaylord. Combine in these skills

:25:15. > :25:29.gives you the maximum bonus that the squat half. Into the

:25:30. > :25:34.handstand. One and a half Rob Balko. Beautiful line.

:25:35. > :25:46.He's winding up. Launches into a double twisting double straight.

:25:47. > :25:47.Fantastic! So difficult to link all these difficult moves one after the

:25:48. > :26:01.other. That was the double twisting

:26:02. > :26:14.dismount. He is so aware of where he is. And delighted! Epke Zonderland,

:26:15. > :26:18.15 point 633. A massive score. Daniel Keatings, our first look at

:26:19. > :26:20.Daniel Keatings today. Dare I say it, one of his favourite pieces of

:26:21. > :26:33.apparatus. Front somersault from upper arm,

:26:34. > :26:33.into the handstand. Under somersault, under somersault

:26:34. > :26:42.half-tone. Into the long swing. Under somersault to one railing

:26:43. > :27:15.handstand. Beautiful control. He needs to stick the dismount.

:27:16. > :27:23.Fantastic performance there from Daniel Keatings. Absolutely

:27:24. > :27:27.delighted. He can actually do a more difficult routine, and I'm just

:27:28. > :27:34.wondering if the coach has said, we need this one in the bag. He's a

:27:35. > :27:37.really beautifully stylish gymnast, legs locked together, extension

:27:38. > :27:43.through the shoulders in all the handstand phases. The Healy finish

:27:44. > :27:51.really well. Big, strong dismount. What a team performance just when it

:27:52. > :27:52.was needed. For Daniel Keatings' 15.2 on parallel bars. A super

:27:53. > :28:06.score. Straight into the front somersault,

:28:07. > :28:22.swinging into the hands aren't. -- handstand.

:28:23. > :28:32.Gymnasts must perform moves above and below the bars.

:28:33. > :28:41.Nice, solid, clean routine. Not the highest difficulty we will see

:28:42. > :28:46.today, but a very steady and assured performance. This is very classy

:28:47. > :28:48.work. The gymnast from Ukraine are always very well-prepared. Big

:28:49. > :28:52.history of gymnastics in their country. They've always got lovely

:28:53. > :29:00.technique. They are building on their score.

:29:01. > :29:13.Verniaiev for Ukraine. Strong start, using the same front

:29:14. > :29:22.somersault. He did well there. Into the Healy.

:29:23. > :29:50.Massive difficulty. Double front half term dismount.

:29:51. > :30:17.Originality and difficulty to boot! Here we are, Russia top, Ukraine

:30:18. > :30:22.into second place. The Netherlands leapt ahead of Great Britain. We

:30:23. > :30:34.have two marks to make up if Great Britain want to defend their title.

:30:35. > :31:13.The first gymnast on the high bar for Great Britain, Max Whitlock.

:31:14. > :31:22.There is the Healy turn, using different grips. Needs a good

:31:23. > :31:31.discount. Step forward on the landing. Will be costly, half a

:31:32. > :31:49.mark. On the parallel bars for Russia, Nikita Ignatyev.

:31:50. > :31:58.Into the front up arise double back. Very difficult. Double back from

:31:59. > :32:13.support. Really packing in the difficulty. That is the Diamadov.

:32:14. > :32:24.Stutz. Front our prize. Double front somersault to finish. Very unusual

:32:25. > :32:37.dismount. Very laboured routine. Max Whitlock, 14.266 - costly, but not

:32:38. > :32:42.disastrous. Onto the parallel bars. Straight in, very clean. Under

:32:43. > :32:53.somersault, slight wobble, controlled it well. Settling into

:32:54. > :33:02.the routine, high difficulty work. Into the handstand. A little bit

:33:03. > :33:21.early on the Stutz. Double pike front. Hop forward on

:33:22. > :33:31.landing, not the cleanest routine we have seen from young David

:33:32. > :33:36.Belyavskiy. I continue that Kristian Thomas has performed well on the

:33:37. > :33:43.high bar, for 14.866. Sam Oldham for Great Britain. Final gymnast on the

:33:44. > :33:56.high bar. 15 in qualification. We need it now. Lovely stretch into the

:33:57. > :34:01.long swing. Full-time, fantastic! Come on, hold this together. Into

:34:02. > :34:11.the straight catch. Lovely height. And there is another. Catch and half

:34:12. > :34:28.turn, Healy turn. Good solid performance. Linking those moves

:34:29. > :34:34.Ford difficulty. Winding up into the dismount. Kicks up high above the

:34:35. > :34:39.bar! Double twisting double back straight! Great performance from Sam

:34:40. > :34:54.Oldham, just when it was really needed. Russia are keeping their

:34:55. > :34:59.nerve. So, Maksym Semiankov knows he wants to give a really good

:35:00. > :35:13.performance here. Style and easy swing he has started with. Oh,

:35:14. > :35:18.lovely high half-time. Takes the extra upstart rather than trying to

:35:19. > :35:30.swing out. Really understands that position well. Swung beautifully

:35:31. > :35:35.from it. Gymnasts swing forwards and backwards. Pops the full pirouette

:35:36. > :35:40.very nicely indeed. Increasing the speed so that he can do a lovely

:35:41. > :35:44.double straight with full twist. Very classy, very nice, but not the

:35:45. > :35:46.hugest difficulty, and that is obviously their problem. Yes, super

:35:47. > :36:18.there, Christine. Needs a good performance.

:36:19. > :36:33.Originality is nice to see. Forward long swing. Slightly off-line,

:36:34. > :36:51.recovers well. Very difficult in the mixed grip. Winds it up. Happy with

:36:52. > :36:57.that. Good difficulty, not quite such great style as his team-mate.

:36:58. > :37:02.But he is an exciting gymnast. In fact, exciting work here. That I

:37:03. > :37:06.liked very much. Spots the landing well. Has defied to hold it, but he

:37:07. > :37:20.saw the floor early, you could see that. Semiankov, the judges liked

:37:21. > :37:30.his style. Not a bad set of scores. Much better than in modification

:37:31. > :37:41.therefore Ukraine. -- than in qualification there for Ukraine.

:37:42. > :37:49.And here, Dan Purvis, the first gymnast on the floor exercise for

:37:50. > :37:56.Great Britain. Double twisting double back, as nonchalantly as you

:37:57. > :38:01.like, made it look easy. One and a half in two double twisting front,

:38:02. > :38:12.little bound on landing. Lots of energy. Double twisting front. He

:38:13. > :38:22.spun it so well. And then the two and a half into the front room. --

:38:23. > :38:29.into the front full. This has been a really good piece over the years for

:38:30. > :38:38.Daniel Purvis. He knows he has got to be precise. That's the trademark!

:38:39. > :38:44.The roll-out, without having to put his hands down. We have had some

:38:45. > :39:40.great tumbling. You can see him really harnessing the concentration.

:39:41. > :39:57.This final. Needs to be successful. There is the squat half, very nice.

:39:58. > :40:01.Into the Katchev with half-time. Into the Markelov, showing nice

:40:02. > :40:09.distance from the bar. Interesting swing, backwards around the bar. And

:40:10. > :40:19.out. Showing great originality. There is the hop full. Full twisting

:40:20. > :40:25.double back. Nailed the dismount. You can see why he is such a great

:40:26. > :40:31.all-round gymnast. And he will build on the score put down by his

:40:32. > :40:36.team-mate, I expect. He catches in that mixed grip and creates a

:40:37. > :40:40.half-time. Quite a quiet finish, just a full twist in the double

:40:41. > :41:00.straight, but he gave nothing away on the landing. 14.6 four Sarcevic.

:41:01. > :41:06.-- for Belyavskiy. From South Essex, Max Whitlock. Can he

:41:07. > :41:15.reproduce his qualification form? What a fantastic full twist into two

:41:16. > :41:20.and a half twists forwards! And another really difficult twisting. .

:41:21. > :41:27.This a bit of pommel horse on the floor. A little bit of break dancing

:41:28. > :41:36.as well. Lots of virtuosity lifts that routine! All that activity, and

:41:37. > :41:57.then the control of the handstand. You can see the focus. So difficult,

:41:58. > :42:08.all these tumbles. Some any twists in this routine. -- so many twists.

:42:09. > :42:12.Finishes with the big triple. What a routine! British guys are really

:42:13. > :42:32.coming into their own on the floor exercise. So, Kuksenkov. Jumps up

:42:33. > :42:43.without the coach. Winds up. Great catch, full twisting. This is great

:42:44. > :42:58.work. Hop full one and a half, but of a loss of form in the legs. That

:42:59. > :43:09.is the Katchev half-time. Full turn on one arm. Into another release

:43:10. > :43:18.Markelov, little bit late there on that one. Needs to keep it going to

:43:19. > :43:25.the dismount. Full twisting double back straight. Very nice work from

:43:26. > :43:28.Kuksenkov. Interestingly, he was part of the team for the Ukraine in

:43:29. > :43:32.the 2012 Olympics, and has moved nationalities, now working for

:43:33. > :43:45.Russia, strengthening their team considerably.

:43:46. > :44:01.And Max Whitlock, 15.7. Wow! That is some score. And 14.833 four

:44:02. > :44:06.Kuksenkov. Coming to the floor, Igor Radivilov, a really powerful

:44:07. > :44:19.gymnast. We are used to seeing him very successful on the rings, but he

:44:20. > :44:38.can. Good awareness in the air. Super height.

:44:39. > :44:49.This should be easy for him. So wide, his arms, his head could only

:44:50. > :45:14.just creep under for the roll. Are difficult, big final tumble.

:45:15. > :45:16.That was a very nice half in, half out with a full twist, he made that

:45:17. > :45:45.look very easy. Radivilov there. Very clean opening. The roll-out

:45:46. > :45:48.smooth. And very well double twisting double tuck. The gymnasts

:45:49. > :45:59.performing such difficult tumbles on this lovely floor.

:46:00. > :46:06.Two and a half twisting forwards. He's showing good versatility. Good

:46:07. > :46:12.twisting, good multiple somersaulting.

:46:13. > :46:18.The specification of the floor, springs under the floor have been

:46:19. > :46:23.changed a little bit recently. It is very bouncy. The trick is to control

:46:24. > :46:40.the landings, though. The triple twist. They are almost

:46:41. > :46:43.becoming commonplace. Really very nicely flighted. Good routine.

:46:44. > :47:03.Ukraine putting the pressure on. So, Britain are pushing up there.

:47:04. > :47:25.They are chasing the Russian Federation.

:47:26. > :47:54.It Mutai starts proceedings on the floor.

:47:55. > :48:09.Quick, fast, exciting. A tough gymnast. He has been really

:48:10. > :48:19.workmanlike throughout this competition.

:48:20. > :48:32.Double twist, quite simple. Needed to be perfect in landing. It was. A

:48:33. > :48:37.little bit more difficult finish. Two and a half, a little bit

:48:38. > :48:41.quieter. He was pleased with that but not huge difficulty there. He

:48:42. > :48:49.powers in. That's the double twist into the full twist. Foot out and on

:48:50. > :48:58.the line. That will be a deduction. Lovely flair work, great extension.

:48:59. > :49:05.Dan Purvis, our first gymnast up for Great Britain.

:49:06. > :49:13.Great Britain handing a mark on those first two performers. Daniel

:49:14. > :49:18.Keatings steps to the pommel horse. He can be brilliant on this but he

:49:19. > :49:20.can be edgy as well. Still the current European champion on this

:49:21. > :49:33.piece of apparatus. We need that performance right now.

:49:34. > :49:37.There is the Stockli work. Steps down into the triple Russian between

:49:38. > :50:09.the handles. Very difficult. Up into the handstand. Yes!

:50:10. > :50:13.Fantastic performance, thrilled for Dan Keatings to produce that.

:50:14. > :50:15.Faltered in qualification and hasn't made the final, but that was a

:50:16. > :50:29.routine when needed. Belyavskiy from Russia, the top

:50:30. > :50:37.individual gymnast around. Can he do the job for the team as well? Double

:50:38. > :50:39.straight with full twist. A little bit of a hop, not quite sure if the

:50:40. > :50:53.flag went up for the foot out. A little bit bouncy in the

:50:54. > :51:17.handstand. He kicks out of that very well

:51:18. > :51:29.indeed. Two and a half twist into front full

:51:30. > :51:40.and jumps out. He's really been very good on the landings. This is final

:51:41. > :51:43.challenge. Triple twist, fantastic performance from Belyavskiy. They

:51:44. > :51:57.are fighting hard to get their title back, these young Russian gymnasts.

:51:58. > :52:15.The final gymnast in this team final for Great Britain, Max Whitlock.

:52:16. > :52:29.On the one handle, he's gone for the most difficult start possible. Great

:52:30. > :52:36.control. Up into the handstand. Back down into a spindle on the end. Full

:52:37. > :52:44.spindle, there it is. Great technique. Look how close his hands

:52:45. > :52:53.are together. Into the triple Russian. Circling up into the

:52:54. > :53:10.handstand. With the pirouette. What a performance!

:53:11. > :53:19.That is a big score for Belyavskiy. Abliazin, the final gymnast for

:53:20. > :53:31.Russia on the floor in this team final.

:53:32. > :53:35.Double twisting double straight. You won't see much more difficult than

:53:36. > :53:42.that. All that! Two and a half twist into

:53:43. > :54:05.double front somersault. The code requires balanced to the

:54:06. > :54:11.routine, not all just dynamic tumbling.

:54:12. > :54:21.Double Arabian, big step. He rushes along to the next tumble. Two and a

:54:22. > :54:23.half twist into full turning front. He has packed so much in, he's

:54:24. > :54:32.worked so fast. An immaculate triple twist. They

:54:33. > :54:41.think that is enough to take the title back from Great Britain. Max

:54:42. > :54:50.Whitlock, 16.2. Wow, that is an immense score!

:54:51. > :54:59.15.833. It's enough. Russia in first place. Great Britain in second at

:55:00. > :55:01.the moment. Russia feel fairly confident no one is going to catch

:55:02. > :55:09.them. Their best pommel worker, 15.2 in

:55:10. > :55:23.qualification. A very powerful gymnast, lots of

:55:24. > :55:32.control, circles well. There is the Stockli. Flock sequence.

:55:33. > :55:46.Travels along the horse. Stockli into the handles. Wind it up into

:55:47. > :55:56.the handstand, full pirouette. Solid performance there. Smiles all round.

:55:57. > :56:00.Very nice, controlled work. Lovely style. I like this guy is a gymnast,

:56:01. > :56:11.he's quite complete, he's good on every apparatus.

:56:12. > :56:44.Silver medallists, Great Britain. Fantastic team. We had a few errors

:56:45. > :56:48.at the start and left ourselves with a bit too much to try to catch

:56:49. > :56:52.Russia. It's the character we've shown to fight back and get even

:56:53. > :56:56.into medal contention after a pretty rough start to the competition, that

:56:57. > :56:59.shows the true character and grit of the team. We will use this as a

:57:00. > :57:04.stepping stone for the World Championships at the end of the

:57:05. > :57:07.year. Good on the P-bars today, I got the feeling you might have

:57:08. > :57:12.expected a better score on the pommel, though. Yeah, I would have

:57:13. > :57:15.liked a higher mark. You just have to take it. It wouldn't have made a

:57:16. > :57:21.difference to the overall outcome of the school today. I've just got to

:57:22. > :57:24.take it on the chin. Today we showed what a team we are. We can have

:57:25. > :57:29.mistakes individually and those mistakes are as a team. When we

:57:30. > :57:35.win, we win as a team. I'm really proud of everyone today. We know

:57:36. > :57:40.what mistakes we made, we will use this as a stepping stone to get

:57:41. > :57:44.back-in the gym and work on what we might have done. When the next

:57:45. > :57:49.European comes around we can fight for that gold again. Dan, a silver

:57:50. > :57:55.is still a great result for the team. It's fantastic. Fighting back

:57:56. > :57:57.from a bit of a rough start, it showed great determination. Going

:57:58. > :58:01.into the competition, it's been the first time all the expectation has

:58:02. > :58:05.been on us, so that the something that is really good and we will have

:58:06. > :58:09.to learn from it going into the World Championships. That is the

:58:10. > :58:10.very point, experiencing something that they've never, ever experienced

:58:11. > :58:19.before. It's a very different ball game when

:58:20. > :58:26.you are going into the competition after racing -- reigning champion.

:58:27. > :58:30.What is the key, because you learnt that very young? It is very

:58:31. > :58:33.difficult, it's trying to put the pressure out of your mind. Those

:58:34. > :58:37.guys were focused on going for gold. It wasn't a case of just going for a

:58:38. > :58:40.medal. The one thing they wanted, and you can tell by their

:58:41. > :58:44.interview, they were quite disappointed they hadn't picked up

:58:45. > :58:48.the gold, even though it's such an amazing result. Russia would just

:58:49. > :58:55.outstanding. Thinking of that on the world stage, they would have medals

:58:56. > :58:58.at the World Championships easy with that. They had their mistakes in

:58:59. > :59:00.qualification and turned it round in the team final. Unfortunately, we

:59:01. > :59:06.did it the other way round. It's the best I've seen Russia for a long

:59:07. > :59:10.time. Britain has still got to be so proud of themselves. Exactly. There

:59:11. > :59:13.is still plenty to look forward to from Bulgaria this afternoon, as we

:59:14. > :59:17.turn our attention is to the apparatus specialists.

:59:18. > :59:24.British double-header, can Daniel Purvis improve on his 2010 bronze

:59:25. > :59:30.medal and will Max Whitlock retain his European crown? Max circled his

:59:31. > :59:40.way to the top of qualifying, but can he beat six time European

:59:41. > :59:48.reigning Olympic champion? Look out for...

:59:49. > :59:57.The most decorated gymnast in parallel bars history, can he make

:59:58. > :00:04.at five European titles? A mouthwatering finale. Ambush and

:00:05. > :00:14.takes on the gold medallist, Epke Zonderland. But can Britain's some

:00:15. > :00:21.old spoil the party? So, lots to look forward to. Me way be watching

:00:22. > :00:29.hot competition among the European elite today, but the grassroots

:00:30. > :00:32.scene is thriving as well. Britain's only gold medallist from Sochi,

:00:33. > :00:38.Lizzy Yarnold, went to London to investigate.

:00:39. > :00:48.Growing up playing sport can mean immense joy. But getting teenagers

:00:49. > :00:48.involved can be difficult. British gymnastics are putting the emphasis

:00:49. > :01:04.on sport with a smile. What we decided to do inset temblor

:01:05. > :01:09.was to introduce eight club within a club, it

:01:10. > :01:11.was to introduce eight club within a teenagers, and they take ownership

:01:12. > :01:17.and empowerment over what happens in the sessions. It is social, it is

:01:18. > :01:23.fun, they have a say in what they achieve. The coaches are more

:01:24. > :01:32.friendly, you can relate, it is like you meet friends and you can

:01:33. > :01:37.socialise. A lot of them, if they were coming to a normal gymnastics

:01:38. > :01:40.session, I do not know how their personality would be suited to the

:01:41. > :01:46.session. We try to be something a bit different to the club. People

:01:47. > :01:51.are expecting a lot more structured classes, more strict, so I try to

:01:52. > :01:54.have a bit of banter with the kids, try to get on their level little

:01:55. > :02:01.bit, have a bit of fun, and that normally works well. That is really

:02:02. > :02:08.good, I am really enjoying it. I come every Friday. The children tend

:02:09. > :02:12.to come from the local estates, some of them also come from quite

:02:13. > :02:17.affluent backgrounds, so there is a mix and balance, which is what

:02:18. > :02:24.creates the community. It makes me want to have a go! Just have a go,

:02:25. > :02:32.that is what it is all about. I might split my trousers!

:02:33. > :02:41.A lot of the fun here is, it is pretty much work and fun at the same

:02:42. > :02:47.time. It is amazing watching these guys. I remember back when I was

:02:48. > :02:51.training in village halls, doing the horrible circuit training, but

:02:52. > :02:51.knowing that it would make you a better athlete. They are

:02:52. > :03:05.inspirational. Do they do adult classes? That is

:03:06. > :03:11.what we want to know, isn't it? You are never too old to start. It is

:03:12. > :03:18.good to see that relaxed approach to gymnastics. Yes, obviously, you do

:03:19. > :03:21.not have to be at the elite level. Without the grassroots level, you

:03:22. > :03:26.will never pick up the future champions. It is so nice to see kids

:03:27. > :03:30.going out and having fun, and you can use it for any other sport.

:03:31. > :03:35.Sometimes it is so difficult, isn't it, to motivate teenagers. It is a

:03:36. > :03:40.difficult stage in your life, your body is changing, peer group

:03:41. > :03:43.pressure... In the past few years, at least we have got role models

:03:44. > :03:49.now, the younger generation have got people to look up to, and it is

:03:50. > :03:54.constantly in the eye of the public. And it is sport as a lesson for

:03:55. > :03:58.life, you put in the effort and you will get a result, which is an

:03:59. > :04:05.important message, isn't it? It is, and not just in sport. If you work

:04:06. > :04:09.hard, you will get the results. I believe I would not be where I am

:04:10. > :04:16.today if it was not for gymnastics. And who knows where the future goes

:04:17. > :04:21.for you, hey? On the floor, we have two representatives, Dan Purvis and

:04:22. > :04:27.defending champion Max Whitlock. two representatives, Dan Purvis and

:04:28. > :04:31.am really looking forward to the floor final. To win it for the first

:04:32. > :04:36.time last year was amazing. You have moved it on a little bit from last

:04:37. > :04:40.year's routine? Yes, I have changed it just slightly, to make it more

:04:41. > :04:44.risky, but hopefully I can pull it off. All round I have done pretty

:04:45. > :04:49.well over the years. It has been great, but also trying to get a name

:04:50. > :04:53.for myself on the floor has been a dream of mine. Individually, you

:04:54. > :04:58.will be up against the defending European champion, Max, how much are

:04:59. > :05:03.you looking forward to that? It is good, Max's routine looks so

:05:04. > :05:08.consistent, with a slightly higher start value than mine as well, so he

:05:09. > :05:13.has got a good chance. Anything for me would be a bonus, to get even a

:05:14. > :05:17.bronze would be fantastic, just to get my name back out there on the

:05:18. > :05:23.floor. So, Max and Dan are the last two gymnasts up in this section. It

:05:24. > :05:27.is worth mentioning that Kristian Thomas would also have made that

:05:28. > :05:37.final, but you are only allowed two gymnasts pro country. We have got

:05:38. > :05:44.the Russian in doubt, who upped his qualification score from the team

:05:45. > :05:48.final. A reminder that Max is the current joint European floor

:05:49. > :05:59.champion, and he shares that's title with the first gymnast we are about

:06:00. > :06:07.to see here, Alexander Shatilov. Over two Christine Still, Alison

:06:08. > :06:18.Mitchell and Craig Heap. Mitchell label and here is. You can

:06:19. > :06:22.just see the second tumble was higher than the first, and he gave

:06:23. > :06:25.himself plenty of time to complete all those twists. Lovely double

:06:26. > :06:34.double, saw the floor, met it perfectly. Two twists, another full

:06:35. > :06:42.twist, using every centimetre of the floor area. Quite a tour gymnast.

:06:43. > :06:49.And that is lovely work, isn't it?! A little bit of virtuosity. Is one

:06:50. > :06:52.of the few gymnasts but when he rebounds from one tumble to the next

:06:53. > :07:07.really lifts higher each time. One-and-three-quarter, the only

:07:08. > :07:11.error really, he did not extend his legs fully there. Not really an

:07:12. > :07:22.error, more a style thing. Here he comes, big final tumble.

:07:23. > :07:23.error, more a style thing. Here he little bit deep on landing. But such

:07:24. > :07:33.fabulous work. Some really quirky originality in there. Into the

:07:34. > :07:38.two-and-a-half, linking those moves. Double double with lots of height.

:07:39. > :07:47.As you say, Christine, spots the floor well in advance. There is the

:07:48. > :08:02.double twist. 15.233 in qualification - will he go better?

:08:03. > :08:02.15.4 puts him at the top of the leaderboard, the person to beat.

:08:03. > :08:08.Now, Denis Ablyazin of Russia, something of a vault and rings

:08:09. > :08:15.specialist. But he was a medallist on the floor at London 2012.

:08:16. > :08:20.CHRISTINE STILL: And he is a really busy gymnast, he really races around

:08:21. > :08:27.the floor. He makes an enormous number of tumbles. That was one of

:08:28. > :08:36.the most difficult tumbles you are likely to see. And that was a

:08:37. > :08:42.fantastic combination. Jams his toes in there, not giving

:08:43. > :08:54.anything away. Like the rings specialist he is,

:08:55. > :08:58.makes that look easy. Powerful and dynamic.

:08:59. > :09:11.Big double Arabian offer jump. We are seeing such enormous tumbles

:09:12. > :09:18.here. Every single one landed with ease. He just needs to concentrate

:09:19. > :09:22.right through to this finish. Triple twist, just a step back, but that

:09:23. > :09:30.was fabulous floor worked. So dynamic, so exciting.

:09:31. > :09:31.CRAIG HEAP: Phenomenal floor work there from the young Russian,

:09:32. > :09:40.absolutely jam-packed with difficulty. He runs into a

:09:41. > :09:45.two-and-a-half twist. Stratospheric! And this tumble here, well, back in,

:09:46. > :09:52.double twist out, the highest difficulty. Unbelievable tumbling.

:09:53. > :09:55.And then again, there is the double twist,

:09:56. > :09:59.And then again, there is the double front. To connect those tumbles

:10:00. > :10:07.gives the gymnast massive, massive points. And then finishes,

:10:08. > :10:14.two-and-a-half, easily. For me, that is the one to beat. Well, all that

:10:15. > :10:22.power has earned him a 15.7, rocketing him into first place -

:10:23. > :10:29.what a performance. Next up, from Greece, former world champion on the

:10:30. > :10:39.floor in 2010 Kosmidis, European champion in 2012. He specialises in

:10:40. > :10:45.the floor exercise. Good combination to start with.

:10:46. > :11:06.And another super tumble, one and a half twist, Punch, double front.

:11:07. > :11:16.But he gave a little push of his feet there.

:11:17. > :11:22.And that is a little deduction the judges will not have missed.

:11:23. > :11:28.Two-and-a-half twist, front full. The gymnasts practice their landings

:11:29. > :11:32.so much, and you can see the reason why. Under pressure like this, they

:11:33. > :11:44.need to be sure they know exactly where the floor is. What is he going

:11:45. > :11:50.to show us at the end? Full twisting double back, and he held that really

:11:51. > :11:56.excellently. Wow, that was a battling performance. What a floor

:11:57. > :12:01.final this is turning into. A really well-controlled routine. He pushes

:12:02. > :12:13.into the double twist, into the one and a half - not a murmur. Into the

:12:14. > :12:19.double front, kicks out. There we go, that is the two-and-a-half

:12:20. > :12:21.twist. If anywhere, he snatched a little bit into that full twist, but

:12:22. > :12:33.yet again, perfect landing. It is not enough to put him top of

:12:34. > :12:42.the leaderboard, but he goes into second. I think he well, Max

:12:43. > :12:46.Whitlock became Great Britain's first-ever European floor champion

:12:47. > :12:53.when he won joint gold last year. Can he defend his title? He has

:12:54. > :12:58.watched the opposition, he knows he needs a big performance here. He is

:12:59. > :13:05.a fabulous twister, see if you can count them. Front somersault, into a

:13:06. > :13:11.two-and-a-half. Already pushing the way. Three and a half, into a front

:13:12. > :13:25.half, and he landed with one foot out, and that will be costly. Lovely

:13:26. > :13:39.work on the floor, very exciting. Super control. Good body shape.

:13:40. > :13:51.One-and-three-quarter, rolls out smoothly. Another big tumble here.

:13:52. > :13:56.Two-and-a-half, into one and a half. This is how he increases his

:13:57. > :14:01.difficulty. The combinations added together, needs this big finished on

:14:02. > :14:10.it triple twist, that was clean, that was great! -- needs this big

:14:11. > :14:23.finish. That was a hugely complex tumble. He really can twist. Look at

:14:24. > :14:26.this, three and a half. Fantastic flexibility in the flare work as

:14:27. > :14:34.well. He really does pack in the difficulty, combining the twisting

:14:35. > :14:38.elements, really great kick out there in the roll-out. The judges

:14:39. > :14:44.will be looking for that. He nails the landing.

:14:45. > :14:55.Not enough for a medal today for Max Whitlock. The penalty stepping out

:14:56. > :15:00.has cost him. All eyes now on Dan Purvis. Can he get in amongst the

:15:01. > :15:09.medals? Super start, super landing. One and

:15:10. > :15:33.a half into the double twist front. He opened out really well of the

:15:34. > :15:44.double front. What a landing that is!

:15:45. > :15:53.Daniel, a very good, all-round, strong gymnast.

:15:54. > :16:04.That is beautiful. He doesn't need to use his hands on the roll-out.

:16:05. > :16:10.Everyone knows this is a very complex, difficult tumble.

:16:11. > :16:17.Into the double Arabian, blind landing and he nailed it. Superb

:16:18. > :16:21.routine. That might just be his performance of the championships on

:16:22. > :16:29.the floor. Fantastic. Double front, there. There was a step but that's

:16:30. > :16:40.only 0.1. Two and a half, full twist. There is the roll-out, great

:16:41. > :16:46.control there. No deductions and a massively difficult final tumble,

:16:47. > :16:53.the Whip salto into the double tucked Arabian. He needs 15.4. More

:16:54. > :17:02.to get into the bronze medal position. He's there!

:17:03. > :17:06.There will be a medal for Great Britain in the floor final. Dan

:17:07. > :17:26.Purvis with a joint bronze. Great to see Dan Purvis back on the

:17:27. > :17:31.podium. His first major medal on the floor since he took bronze at the

:17:32. > :17:38.world and euros on this apparatus in 2010. I'm really pleased with it.

:17:39. > :17:46.Hopefully I can sustain it for the World Championships. If I was on the

:17:47. > :17:51.British team I would want him beside me.

:17:52. > :17:56.He bangs it out in training and he does the same in competition. He has

:17:57. > :17:59.had a couple of years where he is maybe not been at the forefront of

:18:00. > :18:03.the team but still picked up those team medals. It's nice to see him

:18:04. > :18:07.getting that individual medal. And it is one up for Scotland, looking

:18:08. > :18:11.ahead to the Commonwealth Games. Slight disappointment for Max, with

:18:12. > :18:15.his foot out on the floor. But he was hoping to add to his medal

:18:16. > :18:16.tally. Let's look at it, it's remarkably impressive on the

:18:17. > :18:36.international scene. He is not just picking up one medal

:18:37. > :18:41.at a time at a Championships, he's got the potential for the all-round

:18:42. > :18:48.team. He is a massive potential for 2016. 21 years old. His target is

:18:49. > :18:53.Lewis Smith's medal tally of 13. He still got quite a way to go to beat

:18:54. > :19:00.yours of 20! But he still got a lot of years left in him. We will see.

:19:01. > :19:04.The future is looking incredibly bright and strong for Great Britain.

:19:05. > :19:09.Dan Keatings is the current European pommel horse champion. In fact, he's

:19:10. > :19:11.won that title twice. But in qualification things really didn't

:19:12. > :19:16.go according to plan. This is his equivocation routine.

:19:17. > :19:24.He ended up qualifying in 13. You just saw then he had the leg

:19:25. > :19:29.separation, the bent leg. Unfortunately, that can be enough to

:19:30. > :19:32.put you out of a final in this top-level game. Unfortunately, you

:19:33. > :19:36.can see he was very disappointed with that. He knew he had to carry

:19:37. > :19:41.on fighting for that team but that face says it all. It's the story of

:19:42. > :19:45.what could have been, so no transfer him to retain his title. But Great

:19:46. > :19:50.Britain do have the highest qualifier in Max Whitlock. In the

:19:51. > :19:58.team final he posted an enormous 16.2. Here are Dan's thoughts on

:19:59. > :20:02.Max's difficulty. It's the hardest in the world, 17.4. There's quite a

:20:03. > :20:06.big difference between the next guide to him. If he goes through his

:20:07. > :20:10.routine like we've seen him in training, he's got every chance of

:20:11. > :20:16.taking the title. It's a really long routine, he's worked really hard on

:20:17. > :20:23.his fitness and stability. It's looking really good and I'm quite

:20:24. > :20:29.excited for the final. This routine, it's hard. Guess, it's a

:20:30. > :20:34.hard start and the skills are risky in there. I'm going all out. I want

:20:35. > :20:38.to keep that up for the final. You have to have a high start score to

:20:39. > :20:47.compete with these guys, Krisztian Berki, Olympic gold medallist. They

:20:48. > :20:54.are world-class. There are some strong people in that final. Let's

:20:55. > :20:55.look at the strong gymnast in this final and see where everybody is

:20:56. > :21:33.going. First up on pommel is Bertoncelj of

:21:34. > :21:37.Slovenia, bronze medallist in the Europeans in 2010. Start

:21:38. > :21:41.straightaway into the single legwork.

:21:42. > :21:45.A very nice move on one handle there. Building up into the

:21:46. > :21:50.wendeswing is on the one handle. Really build the difficulty there.

:21:51. > :22:20.Wu travel into the full spindle. Nice start.

:22:21. > :22:23.they are going to have to do something special, when you start

:22:24. > :22:28.with a good performance it often goes right the way through the

:22:29. > :22:33.final. Lovely style. I love that on the one arm.

:22:34. > :22:40.The aim is to hold the body as straight as possible, with the heels

:22:41. > :22:44.up hide behind, hands in line. You can see he's really got a good

:22:45. > :22:47.style. All these finalists will have good style, they won't have got

:22:48. > :22:49.through to the final without. A little bit of a bend of the elbows,

:22:50. > :22:57.there will be a deduction. He does improve his qualifying

:22:58. > :23:12.score, he'll be pleased with that. Now we have a former Olympic silver

:23:13. > :23:20.medallist. It is Ude, 27 years of age. Straight into the single leg

:23:21. > :23:25.scissor work, great extension there. Lots of amplitude on the circles, up

:23:26. > :23:39.into the handstand. There was a pause there. The highest difficulty

:23:40. > :23:47.work there. There is the wendeswing in the middle between the handles.

:23:48. > :23:54.Really difficult pommel work here. There is the Wu travel. He's off!

:23:55. > :24:00.What a shame! That was such a virtuosity and amplitude there. He

:24:01. > :24:07.was going for broke in that routine. Packed with difficulty. He can be

:24:08. > :24:15.temperamental on these big occasions. He qualified in second

:24:16. > :24:22.place, he was a real medal chance. Back-in there. Fantastic extension

:24:23. > :24:27.on those circles. Lots of clearance on the Magyar travel. There is the

:24:28. > :24:29.full pirouette. Real disappointment there because some of that work was

:24:30. > :24:39.really very special. It is such a taxing apparatus. You

:24:40. > :24:46.have to keep absolute control of the body all the time through. All the

:24:47. > :24:50.great work is spoilt by the fact that if you fall off, the judges

:24:51. > :24:59.just take one mark away. There are no ifs or buts about it.

:25:00. > :25:07.Not what he was hoping for today. Could this be the man, then, to

:25:08. > :25:11.challenge for gold? The living legend of the pommel horse, six time

:25:12. > :25:15.European champion, two-time world champion and the reigning Olympic

:25:16. > :25:21.champion, Krisztian Berki. This will be phenomenal.

:25:22. > :25:28.The amplitude in the legs there, up into the handstand, back again.

:25:29. > :25:46.Beautiful line. This builds the difficulty. A little

:25:47. > :25:54.legs split on the Wendy swing. -- wendeswing. Onto the end, into the

:25:55. > :26:00.womb. He's going for the difficulty. There's the Magyar travel. It's

:26:01. > :26:03.slightly laboured. He's having to fight this. Up into the handstand.

:26:04. > :26:17.There is the pirouette. But fight he did. That was a really

:26:18. > :26:23.exciting routine to watch. Such amplitude. Look at the height of the

:26:24. > :26:28.legs. No problem clearing the pommel, is there? There's no chance

:26:29. > :26:30.of the legs hitting. Right up into the handstand and lovely swing the

:26:31. > :26:45.whole time. Really exciting stuff. He didn't

:26:46. > :26:50.have the highest start of value in qualification but he looked like he

:26:51. > :26:55.added a bit in there and made it much more difficult. Fantastic work

:26:56. > :27:01.on the one handle and between the handles.

:27:02. > :27:07.He had a couple of little deductions when his legs splayed apart. You can

:27:08. > :27:09.see he's just tiring a little bit, closer to the handles now by the end

:27:10. > :27:24.of the routine. It was a very difficult routine. He

:27:25. > :27:29.fought right to the end. I expect this will be a very big score. But

:27:30. > :27:42.beatable, I feel. It has taken him into first place.

:27:43. > :27:44.Terrific work from Krisztian Berki, putting him into the gold medal

:27:45. > :27:57.position. Straight onto Macs. Single legwork,

:27:58. > :28:05.onto the one handle. That's the big difficulty skill. Back onto the one

:28:06. > :28:11.handle there with the Stockli. Into the circle. This is a difficult

:28:12. > :28:16.Busnari. Fantastic, come on, Max. There we go. Winds up the circle,

:28:17. > :28:24.into the full spindle. He needs to travel along the horse, compose

:28:25. > :28:32.himself. Magyar, into the Wu travel. Into the triple Russian. Keep it

:28:33. > :28:38.going. Up onto the one handle, into the handstand. Full turn dismount.

:28:39. > :28:42.Well, what about that? Fantastic difficulty. You can see the Brits in

:28:43. > :28:46.the crowd cheering away. He really went for all his difficulty. It's

:28:47. > :28:50.those fantastically difficult moves all crammed in together that make

:28:51. > :28:58.the difference. Here, he also shows lovely amplitude. This very

:28:59. > :29:03.difficult work, just a tiny flicker of bent knees at that point, but

:29:04. > :29:07.this is so difficult. He was well into the sevens on difficulty in

:29:08. > :29:18.qualification. This is powerful stuff indeed. Look at this here.

:29:19. > :29:24.Wonderful work. He is such a composed gymnast as well. Quite

:29:25. > :29:27.relaxed sort of person. Right from a young age he's always been able to

:29:28. > :29:34.produce the goods when it has mattered. That is one of those

:29:35. > :29:37.skills, as a coach, you can do lots for your gymnasts and help them

:29:38. > :29:41.improve, but it is a little bit something that is in a gymnast,

:29:42. > :29:45.being able to soak up the pressure and perform on the moment. Max has

:29:46. > :29:59.certainly got that ability. 16.166 puts Max Whitlock into the

:30:00. > :30:04.gold medal position, and that surely will be enough to make in European

:30:05. > :30:08.champion! There is confirmation, Max Whitlock takes gold, he is the new

:30:09. > :30:11.European champion on the pommel horse. And the Silver ghost of the

:30:12. > :30:19.reigning Olympic champion Krisztian Berki. The bronze goes to Saso

:30:20. > :30:23.Bertoncelj. Max Whitlock is the European champion on pommels for the

:30:24. > :30:31.very first time. He takes the congratulation from his fellow

:30:32. > :30:34.gymnast, and a score of 16.166, the only gymnast in the final to break

:30:35. > :30:39.16 points. A tremendous performance from him. He keeps that European

:30:40. > :30:41.gold medal within British gymnastics, taking over from Dan

:30:42. > :31:31.Keatings. Max, European pommel horse champion,

:31:32. > :31:36.that must have a nice ring to it wanted yes, I am really happy, I put

:31:37. > :31:40.everything into that routine, and to beat somebody like Krisztian Berki,

:31:41. > :31:45.who I really look up to in this sport, it is a real achievement for

:31:46. > :31:50.me. You did not just beat him, you destroyed him, which sends out a

:31:51. > :31:55.massive message. Yes, I am really happy for the team, and to get

:31:56. > :32:00.through it, every routine that I do, I try to up it more and more. How

:32:01. > :32:06.tough is this routine been to learn and to perfect? It is really tough,

:32:07. > :32:11.the hardest bit has been building up that stamina, in the build-up to the

:32:12. > :32:17.competition. Once you get that, it is all about cleaning the Scot

:32:18. > :32:20.worked really hard to get and managed to pull it off on the day.

:32:21. > :32:25.What can you say?! I think he took a lot of that fight and disappointment

:32:26. > :32:32.from the floor and put it into that Rommel 's routine. Yes, he qualified

:32:33. > :32:37.first on pommel and floor, and he had the disappointment. Sometimes

:32:38. > :32:44.you do take it onto the other routine, as you say. He does take

:32:45. > :32:50.the risks, and he will be working towards the world's, wanting to put

:32:51. > :33:00.it out there. He did not hold back, he wanted to do it in style. Yes, I

:33:01. > :33:04.think he already knew what plan he wanted to do, trying the difficult

:33:05. > :33:09.routine, hunting for the future, not just for gold on this occasion.

:33:10. > :33:16.Let's have a look at the routine. As Max was saying, 7.3 difficulty, so

:33:17. > :33:23.the whole routine was marked out of 17.3... Max has got such clean

:33:24. > :33:27.lines, there is not a lot for the judges to take. He is so fast, and

:33:28. > :33:31.he knows exactly what is going on. That was the new skill which we just

:33:32. > :33:35.saw there, which really builds up his difficulty. One thing he has

:33:36. > :33:41.struggled with this season is that it is a lot longer, and he has found

:33:42. > :33:45.the stamina hard, so he has spent a lot of time just building that up.

:33:46. > :33:48.And he does not do all the difficult stuff at the beginning, when he has

:33:49. > :33:55.got the muscle power, does it the middle as well. You could hear the

:33:56. > :33:59.British crowd in the background, they knew that if he went from a to

:34:00. > :34:07.be at the end there, that he would have that title in his pocket. If

:34:08. > :34:18.you were with us last week, you will have seen how brilliantly our junior

:34:19. > :34:24.girls performed. So, how have the junior boys got on in Sofia? Nick

:34:25. > :34:27.Pope will let you know. Having won the team title three times in a

:34:28. > :34:31.row, there was expectations rather than hope that the British junior

:34:32. > :34:36.squad would succeed again. The Russians had other ideas. Despite a

:34:37. > :34:42.clean rings routine by J Thompson, great return were trailing their

:34:43. > :34:46.rivals early on. But Gianni then delivered big. The parallel bars

:34:47. > :34:53.brought out the best in Nile Wilson. Bryn Bevan impressed on the

:34:54. > :35:01.high bar, eating Great Britain a clear lead heading into the final

:35:02. > :35:08.rotation. GB edged ahead of Russia to secure gold. It was going to be

:35:09. > :35:12.close between us and Russia but we managed to stay strong as a team and

:35:13. > :35:20.encourage each other. Wilson returned for the all-round final.

:35:21. > :35:22.Bevan had a less dramatic day, consistent throughout, with a solid

:35:23. > :35:28.display on the pommel horse, claiming bronze. Wilson put in a

:35:29. > :35:33.powerful performance on the floor, landing the 18-year-old his first

:35:34. > :35:39.individual European title. I had a bit of an error on the parallel

:35:40. > :35:42.bars. I thought, what am I doing, grit my teeth, big heart, went

:35:43. > :35:50.through the rest of it and absolutely smashed every

:35:51. > :35:59.routineextraordinary, Nile got himself three golds. A super

:36:00. > :36:07.dismount. And look at the release on the high bar here. Just remarkable.

:36:08. > :36:13.And Gianni as well, on the floor, he got a gold. Just strength in depth

:36:14. > :36:17.with this team, Beth? Yes, they have come away with a lot of medals.

:36:18. > :36:22.Barry Callier has been working really hard with them. Four times

:36:23. > :36:29.consecutive team champions, what an achievement from our junior boys.

:36:30. > :36:36.And there is another page, it does not stop there. They took six out of

:36:37. > :36:39.the eight gold medals, a few years ago, you would not even have

:36:40. > :36:44.believed that British gymnastics would be able to do that. When you

:36:45. > :36:51.compare the girls to the boys as well... Yes, the girls took the

:36:52. > :36:55.lead, then the boys took over, and now the girls are coming back into

:36:56. > :37:02.their own. British gymnastics is looking really bright, the prospects

:37:03. > :37:08.for 2016 are amazing. Going back to the men, and our next final, which

:37:09. > :37:12.will be the rings. It will be some time before those juniors make their

:37:13. > :37:17.mark at a senior level on this particular piece of apparatus. No

:37:18. > :37:24.British interest, the highest was Dan Purvis, who was in 14th. The

:37:25. > :37:31.Netherland competitor, now 31 years old. But we are going to start with

:37:32. > :37:38.the highest qualifier, Denis Ablyazin. Let's see how the strong

:37:39. > :37:45.men get on in this European rings final.

:37:46. > :37:50.ALISON MITCHELL: Here is someone who is built like a classic rings

:37:51. > :37:59.gymnast, floor champion Denis Ablyazin, let's see what he can do

:38:00. > :38:09.on the rings. This is his piece of apparatus.

:38:10. > :38:21.Qualified in first place. Down and back up. Highest difficulty work.

:38:22. > :38:33.Laying into the Yamawaki. And straight to that flat top planche.

:38:34. > :38:40.Circle round again to the crucifix. Showed a little flicker in the

:38:41. > :38:46.face. Only difficult work. Must show control on the swinging elements. He

:38:47. > :38:50.is winding up. It is going to be a big dismount. Double twisting double

:38:51. > :39:03.back straight! Slight hop on the landing. Fantastic routine there

:39:04. > :39:07.from the young Russian. . Really special work. Are we going to see a

:39:08. > :39:12.double gold medallist? White and usual, floor and brings together.

:39:13. > :39:19.Such a powerful gymnast, but he swings nicely as well. Kills it into

:39:20. > :39:32.a strength element. That is really wonderful. Shoulders in line with

:39:33. > :39:42.the hand. He was the bronze medallist on the rings in 2012. Big

:39:43. > :39:47.score on execution. This is the joint defending champion, from

:39:48. > :39:51.France. CRAIG HEAP: Very strong gymnast,

:39:52. > :40:05.straight up to the top planche. Swing into the Maltese, pressing

:40:06. > :40:12.into the invert. Shoulders flat. Highest difficulty work. Circle

:40:13. > :40:13.backwards into the hands stand. Into the swinging elements, that is the

:40:14. > :40:25.double pike. Circling round to the Maltese. He is

:40:26. > :40:37.having to work now. Beautiful crucifix.

:40:38. > :40:52.Layout up to the handstand. Half in, half out dismount. Nailed the

:40:53. > :40:57.landing. You can see a well strapped shoulder, that is the danger for

:40:58. > :41:05.these ring specialists, they do so much strength work. You have to

:41:06. > :41:16.circle as well, and he just gets a little bit of movement at the top of

:41:17. > :41:26.the rings. He controls it well. Into the double front somersault. Now,

:41:27. > :41:29.that is a lovely position, really good, straight body-line. And look

:41:30. > :41:36.at him stretches fingers out, not even gripping the rings. A little

:41:37. > :41:42.bit of virtuosity. The full twist in the double straight, it was a little

:41:43. > :41:47.bit piked again, but it was a strong challenge. You used the word

:41:48. > :41:53.virtuosity there, is that almost an element of showboating? Look at that

:41:54. > :41:58.school, it puts the defending champion up into second place. Yes,

:41:59. > :42:06.a little bit of showboating, I can do this easily. No effort at all!

:42:07. > :42:09.Now, this man from Armenia qualified in third. If he can repeat that all

:42:10. > :42:37.better, he will be up in the medals. If rates strength, through to the

:42:38. > :42:41.top planche, back to the Maltese. Onto the crucifix. But alignment

:42:42. > :42:50.with the shoulders, good body position.

:42:51. > :42:59.Nice swing, into the handstand. Swinging straight to the Maltese.

:43:00. > :43:20.Circle background to the crucifix. Back prize to the top planche. --

:43:21. > :43:31.back prize. Now that is more like it. That was a nailed dismount, full

:43:32. > :43:38.of confidence and determination! Full of difficulty, this routine.

:43:39. > :43:44.Needs to lock out through the shoulders into a pure line, just

:43:45. > :43:50.holding a slight shoulder angle. Here comes the swinging sections.

:43:51. > :43:58.And this, the excellent dismount, not a flicker. That is how to land.

:43:59. > :44:05.Has he done enough to get himself up into the medals? He looks excited -

:44:06. > :44:12.and he is out there, 15.7, he is in the bronze medal position! Fabulous

:44:13. > :44:15.marks for execution. Aleksandr Balandin of Russia. Former European

:44:16. > :44:32.champion on the rings. In 2012. spot, it will be this man. Look at

:44:33. > :44:36.that strength. That is Balandin, spot, it will be this man. Look at

:44:37. > :44:48.that is his move. Circle round to Maltese. Very flat. This will be his

:44:49. > :44:50.second move. That is also his own move, absolutely packed with

:44:51. > :45:01.difficulty, and great swinging elements.

:45:02. > :45:20.Slight lift of the head to say, this is easy!

:45:21. > :45:30.There's a slight wobble there. He's got to hold on. Full twisting double

:45:31. > :45:37.straight. Much better on the dismount. Will it be good enough?

:45:38. > :45:42.Well, he had the highest difficulty in qualification. A 6.9 difficulty

:45:43. > :45:58.score. Even with a tiny waiver, that looked really impressive work.

:45:59. > :46:05.Such strength and style. We've seen good execution scores on the rings

:46:06. > :46:14.being awarded today. That was a lovely shape.

:46:15. > :46:21.If he can match the others on execution he certainly will be the

:46:22. > :46:27.work -- the winner. He makes the landing. He thinks that's good

:46:28. > :46:31.enough. He gave a little view nonchalantly nods to the judges. He

:46:32. > :46:38.has done it. He's up there. It equals the score of Abliazin. There

:46:39. > :46:58.will be not one but two European champions on the rings this year.

:46:59. > :47:05.We are moving on to the vault. Kristian Thomas won a bronze medal

:47:06. > :47:08.at the worlds in Antwerp. There were high hopes for him but could he go

:47:09. > :47:14.one further? It didn't quite work out.

:47:15. > :47:19.His first vault was fantastic, just a small hop at the end.

:47:20. > :47:23.Unfortunately, it was the second one. It was a blind landing, he

:47:24. > :47:29.didn't get his block and didn't get enough height to get around. This is

:47:30. > :47:33.the thing with the vault final, you get two and the average is taken. It

:47:34. > :47:37.is, but they are so difficult and there is little room for error. If

:47:38. > :47:41.you don't get it quite right it is the end of the game. It is

:47:42. > :47:45.effectively one move, it's over in the blink of an eye. If you don't

:47:46. > :47:50.quite get that block right, which was the case in the second one...

:47:51. > :48:04.And it's also very difficult in the finals, you have no time to get

:48:05. > :48:08.yourself warmed up. And judging your adrenaline as well. The run ups are

:48:09. > :48:12.so different, because some gymnasts don't want to overrate it that much.

:48:13. > :48:17.You've got that excitement which can give you the extra height, it can be

:48:18. > :48:21.crucial on the landing. Millar having had experience in the final,

:48:22. > :48:24.it really helps with wanting to get those medals. Some of the names in

:48:25. > :48:29.this final have been there, done it and know exactly how to control that

:48:30. > :48:55.adrenaline. Let's have a look at the top eight who made the final.

:48:56. > :49:14.Let's get down to the end of the runway and watch the final.

:49:15. > :49:21.The gymnasts have to do two different vaults. Here we see a

:49:22. > :49:27.scuttling run. Big double front with a half turn out. A fantastically

:49:28. > :49:31.difficult vault. He landed in quite a good, straight line and then

:49:32. > :49:39.hopped to the side a little bit. That was good execution of a hugely

:49:40. > :49:42.difficult vault. Yes, it blocks up. That's a double front somersault,

:49:43. > :49:50.half turn out, favoured by some of the gymnasts.

:49:51. > :50:16.Two somersaults off. Really fantastic vault. He did very well

:50:17. > :50:25.not to bound forwards and put his hands down.

:50:26. > :50:33.There was nothing nonchalantly bout this approach. Powers in, rats into

:50:34. > :50:37.the double pike back. Very lucky not to bounce forward. Just look at the

:50:38. > :50:40.front on push. Plenty of length, opened out at the right time. Just a

:50:41. > :51:05.little kickback. Two and a half twists, lovely

:51:06. > :51:11.spatial awareness. He planted his feet down very well indeed. He won't

:51:12. > :51:17.have too many deductions there. Beautiful vault.

:51:18. > :51:26.Very difficult to land, it's a blind landing. He locks his legs together.

:51:27. > :51:32.He hits the floor. Very difficult to be done from that vault.

:51:33. > :51:46.He's just 18. 15 for that first vault, very good start.

:51:47. > :51:54.The challenge for all these gymnasts is the second vault.

:51:55. > :52:02.Very good indeed. Straight front with double twist. Very difficult.

:52:03. > :52:08.That same super spatial awareness and meeting of the floor. Yes, the

:52:09. > :52:12.mass appeal draft from the springboard, blocks of the top, the

:52:13. > :52:13.double twist in the straight position, very difficult to create

:52:14. > :52:38.so much rotation. A little bit down on execution for

:52:39. > :52:46.the second one, but two very strong vaults from the youngster. Tuuha of

:52:47. > :52:47.Finland steps up. The former European champion himself on this

:52:48. > :53:02.apparatus. Willed that power, lifts, two and a

:53:03. > :53:11.half twists, nice big, long vault. Just that little hop on landing.

:53:12. > :53:16.Very tidy, very well performed. Nice acceleration. If anything, slightly

:53:17. > :53:26.higher than the previous vault. A little bit longer as well.

:53:27. > :53:32.The judges doing the execution score have to decide whether there was any

:53:33. > :53:37.lack of height, lack of length. There was a little hop. They quite

:53:38. > :53:51.liked it. A good start for his first vault.

:53:52. > :53:57.Double twisting front, but he went well off line when he landed. A big

:53:58. > :54:02.jump across. He is obviously thrilled to have made the landing

:54:03. > :54:03.securely but there will be directional faults. A very difficult

:54:04. > :54:15.vault with the blind landing. Did very well to control that. He

:54:16. > :54:28.could have easily sat down. He really holds a lovely shape.

:54:29. > :54:36.This man already has a floor gold and a rings gold to his name. He is

:54:37. > :54:40.the defending vault champion. He's going to do one of these big,

:54:41. > :54:55.huge vaults with a six star value. Super-speed, super height, super

:54:56. > :54:59.landing. Two and a half somersaults off the hand. He just makes it looks

:55:00. > :55:07.like he stood on the top and done back somersault to in training. Just

:55:08. > :55:12.look at the power. He attacks, wraps in, almost the double straight off

:55:13. > :55:17.the vault. Huge faulting. Only one tenth on deduction therefore the

:55:18. > :55:24.landing. Great height. Very powerful indeed.

:55:25. > :55:34.9.2 for the execution, 15.2, a strong start from Abliazin.

:55:35. > :55:41.Unusual, the second vault harder than the first. The mat in front of

:55:42. > :55:51.the board shows he's going to make around off action. Fantastic!

:55:52. > :55:55.Straight front off with two and a half twists. That is really massive

:55:56. > :56:02.difficulty. And he only just squeezed it in. Look at this. The

:56:03. > :56:04.half term, wraps into the two and a half. Just about kept his knees

:56:05. > :56:19.there from the mat. With such difficulty, he might just

:56:20. > :56:26.be good enough. What a Championships he's having so far, this young man

:56:27. > :56:43.at 21. It has put him into first place.

:56:44. > :56:49.Verniaiev has never won a gold medal at the European Championships. A

:56:50. > :56:57.slight but technically perfect gymnast.

:56:58. > :57:08.The floor didn't come and hit him, he landed on it. That was very

:57:09. > :57:17.impressive. Yes, he performed much better there. " landing. He had

:57:18. > :57:24.plenty of time. Wraps in, half turn, open out. One step back on the

:57:25. > :57:25.landing. The nominal faulting. Cashback vaulting. His chest was

:57:26. > :57:37.right up. He rubbed his Achilles a little bit

:57:38. > :57:41.because he bent his knees and took a landing. A few of them land on

:57:42. > :57:48.straight legs and just bounce. He really gave a textbook landing.

:57:49. > :58:09.This has to be almost perfect for a medal. His knees touch. He just lost

:58:10. > :58:11.a bit of direction. Huge twist. He didn't quite get the block off the

:58:12. > :58:26.top. Ouch! He went round the side, lost form in

:58:27. > :58:31.his legs, stepping out over the zone there. He twisted very early,

:58:32. > :58:35.forcing him to bend the legs, losing control on the landing. It was

:58:36. > :58:39.almost a cross between a half arm and a handspring. I think it will be

:58:40. > :58:49.deducted quite heavily. There will be deductions but... It's

:58:50. > :58:56.putting him up there into the medals.

:58:57. > :59:11.It is a third individual gold medal for Abliazin.

:59:12. > :59:18.No doubt Verniaiev will be getting strapped up, he's in the parallel

:59:19. > :59:21.bars final next. The next major competition for our gymnasts will be

:59:22. > :59:24.the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with the opening ceremony taking

:59:25. > :59:31.place on the 23rd of July. There's going to be a very interesting

:59:32. > :59:36.battle within the British team, with the two Dans representing Scotland,

:59:37. > :59:44.and Max and Sam flying the flag for England.

:59:45. > :59:52.To be in Glasgow, in the home arena, I cannot wait. It is great to

:59:53. > :59:58.compete for England. There is already banter going on in the gym.

:59:59. > :00:02.The national coaches will sometimes shout out, after we have done a

:00:03. > :00:12.routine on the pommel horse, 2-0 to Scotland! It will be interesting

:00:13. > :00:19.fighting against each other. There have been a few jokes already. There

:00:20. > :00:25.are rivalries between team-mates, so it is even better. In the training

:00:26. > :00:31.camps, we are all going to be at Lilleshall together, the different

:00:32. > :00:37.teams. Scotland have never got a team medal before, and that will be

:00:38. > :00:41.one of our main targets. I am sure we will have plenty of English fans

:00:42. > :00:46.supporting us as well. You want to be facing someone from England,

:00:47. > :00:54.don't you? It would be great! Well, all the gymnastic events are in the

:00:55. > :00:58.same venue as where the 2015 world gymnastics Championships will be

:00:59. > :01:06.held. Craig Heap is joining us now, having just popped out of the

:01:07. > :01:12.commentary box. The reason you are here is that you won two golds in

:01:13. > :01:16.the Commonwealth Games. We have got some footage, which

:01:17. > :01:20.the Commonwealth Games. We have got the archives! This is you on the

:01:21. > :01:26.high bar, Craig! A packed crowd as well. I mean, this is top-level

:01:27. > :01:30.gymnastics, you do not get much better than that, to be honest! I

:01:31. > :01:35.should be at the Europeans this weekend, to be honest, but old age

:01:36. > :01:42.got in the ways! There is a very squeaky bar, I did not know if that

:01:43. > :01:47.was your knees, or the apparatus! What a dismount, look at that! It

:01:48. > :01:52.was a massive decision, to be honest, to carry on after the Sydney

:01:53. > :01:55.Olympics, two more years. But actually being given the opportunity

:01:56. > :01:59.to compete in your own country, representing your own country, is

:02:00. > :02:03.something that will probably stick with me for the rest of my life,

:02:04. > :02:07.something that I am really glad I did. And we have talked about this

:02:08. > :02:13.competition within the British team, England and Scotland - what are your

:02:14. > :02:18.predictions? Well, I like the underdog so I am really rooting for

:02:19. > :02:22.Scotland. It was the same for us back in 2002, we trained with some

:02:23. > :02:26.of the guys in the Scottish team. Even though they were qualifying for

:02:27. > :02:32.individual, they were not at that level to push for a team medal, so

:02:33. > :02:36.it is really exciting. There is also a rivalry between the coaches, isn't

:02:37. > :02:42.there? Eddie will be looking after the England team, and Paul will be

:02:43. > :02:47.looking after the Scotland team. Yes, I think there might be a few

:02:48. > :02:54.bets going on. Definitely, the coaches are really put that stiff.

:02:55. > :02:57.-- the coaches are really competitive. It makes for

:02:58. > :03:02.interesting debate in the bar afterwards. I think we found out

:03:03. > :03:07.where your loyalties are lying last week! It is England for you wanted

:03:08. > :03:11.should definitely. Most of the British team at the moment are

:03:12. > :03:16.English. And I will be supporting team England, I am an ambassador for

:03:17. > :03:21.them. Within the boys team, it will be a massive battle. It is nice to

:03:22. > :03:25.see that Scotland have got that strength and depth to content for a

:03:26. > :03:30.team medal. Moving onto our penultimate final of the day, we are

:03:31. > :03:39.looking at the parallel bars final. Let's have a look at the top eight.

:03:40. > :03:54.The highest qualifier is the one we just saw, this is his third final.

:03:55. > :04:02.And Mitja Petkovsek is now 37 years old. And if bars are involved, Epke

:04:03. > :04:10.Zonderland will always be in with a shout. Let's find out what happened.

:04:11. > :04:13.ALISON MITCHELL: To get us under way, on parallel bars, the European

:04:14. > :04:23.silver medallist from 2012, Oleg Verniaiev.

:04:24. > :04:32.CRAIG HEAP: Straight into the handstand. Very precise, under

:04:33. > :04:40.somersault with the half-time. Under somersault, into the Healy turn. Top

:04:41. > :04:49.difficulty. Another under somersault, looking out those arms

:04:50. > :04:58.that is the under bar skill. Straight up to the handstand. Healy

:04:59. > :05:04.turn, reverse pirouette. That is the Stutz. Front uprise. Double front

:05:05. > :05:10.half term, nails the landing! What a performance.

:05:11. > :05:14.CHRISTINE STILL: Well, that was a great routine, he is a real

:05:15. > :05:19.no-nonsense gymnast. Beautiful work, beautiful body shape. Lovely

:05:20. > :05:23.extension through the shoulders in the handstand position. Feet locked

:05:24. > :05:34.together, and this is a very difficult skill, right at the

:05:35. > :05:41.beginning of the routine. Very clean in his pirouetting work, and this,

:05:42. > :05:47.so high, swings up to the handstand. Beautiful body-line at all times.

:05:48. > :05:58.And then, for good measure, he adds in a really difficult, interesting

:05:59. > :06:04.dismount. Bronze on the vault, he really wants to be top dog on this

:06:05. > :06:10.apparatus, doesn't he? First to go in the final, and he was delighted

:06:11. > :06:17.with his dismount. A very good score to start this final.

:06:18. > :06:28.Here is a legend of the parallel bars, Mitja Petkovsek of Slovenia.

:06:29. > :06:34.Two-time world champion, four-time European champion on this apparatus.

:06:35. > :06:37.Straight to work, up into the handstand. And he has made a

:06:38. > :06:49.mistake. Under somersault straightaway. Off the bars. Looked

:06:50. > :07:06.like he was not happy with the grip there. Whether he slipped

:07:07. > :07:14.underneath... He has 30 seconds. Starts from on one rail. Beautiful

:07:15. > :07:23.now front somersault, nice and high to catch. Half-time. Into the

:07:24. > :07:30.Tippelt, come on, this is more like it. Healy turn.

:07:31. > :07:44.Cuts the routine short. That is the end of his European Championships.

:07:45. > :07:49.It has been a long way since qualification, and always

:07:50. > :08:00.disappointing if it finishes without success. A bit of a bent leg on that

:08:01. > :08:10.catch. Lovely lift off the bars. Double pike, finished easily. There

:08:11. > :08:18.is his score. So, a disappointment for Mitja Petkovsek. David

:08:19. > :08:28.Belyavskiy of Russia, 2013 bronze medallist. Can he go better here?

:08:29. > :08:38.Under somersault to handstand, to one bar. Front uprise Diamadov,

:08:39. > :08:43.straight into the Tippelt. Very difficult gymnastics. That is a

:08:44. > :08:49.front somersault to catch. Straight into a handstand. Healy turn.

:08:50. > :09:01.Slight flicker of the lakes on the Stutz to one rail. Into the Stutz.

:09:02. > :09:09.Front uprise. Double pike front dismount, great routine from David

:09:10. > :09:14.Belyavskiy. Fabulous pace to this routine. He is crisp. Fast and

:09:15. > :09:36.dynamic. Very strong gymnast. And here, lifts

:09:37. > :09:41.up high, double pike front, just that little bit more difficult than

:09:42. > :09:49.the doubletalk front. Body a little bit slower through the air. Coach,

:09:50. > :09:55.highly delighted. Oleg Verniaiev is really the only gymnast to really

:09:56. > :10:06.put in a score so far, so he should be right up there. And indeed

:10:07. > :10:09.Belyavskiy goes up to second place. Epke Zonderland, he should be able

:10:10. > :10:20.to challenge for a medal. Hugely talented gymnast, last man to go

:10:21. > :10:35.full very original. It is a beautiful move. Healy turn, straight

:10:36. > :10:44.in to the front somersault. Really difficult combination. That is the

:10:45. > :10:55.Diamadov. Back into the bar. Needs a strong finish. Double pike back.

:10:56. > :11:00.Well, he just needed a good dismount, Epke Zonderland, better

:11:01. > :11:08.known for his phenomenal high bar work, but he has always been a good

:11:09. > :11:14.parallel bars work as well. In fact, in 2011, he got a silver on

:11:15. > :11:17.this apparatus, and just like his high bar work, it is full of

:11:18. > :11:23.original combinations, difficult terms. He is wonderfully spatially

:11:24. > :11:28.aware, he knows just where his body is. And he has become over the last

:11:29. > :11:36.few years a really stylish performer. He was always exciting,

:11:37. > :11:46.but look at this. Pirouettes along the rail, along the bar, smooth...

:11:47. > :11:53.Looking in very good shape. His lines are improving. There, the

:11:54. > :11:58.double pike, chest beautifully up on landing - good stuff. He has had a

:11:59. > :12:03.silver and a bronze at the European Championship 's in the past. It will

:12:04. > :12:09.take an almighty effort to top the score of Oleg Verniaiev. Yes,

:12:10. > :12:12.probably not enough to top the table, but certainly enough to get

:12:13. > :12:21.into the medals, I really hope so... . Well, he has got bronze. He

:12:22. > :12:25.is up into the medals, and it means the European Championship is

:12:26. > :12:33.Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev, who takes home the gold medal. He improved on

:12:34. > :12:38.his qualifying score. A deserved winner, in what turned out to be a

:12:39. > :12:47.low scoring parallel bars final. There is the confirmation.

:12:48. > :12:53.Thank you, Alison. Now, the last of the individual apparatus finals, and

:12:54. > :12:58.what a way to finish. It is the high bar. If you are watching this on

:12:59. > :13:01.your own, just get everybody around the telly, because two of the

:13:02. > :13:12.high-flyers to look out for, the former world champion, as well as

:13:13. > :13:26.Epke Zonderland. He is such a performer under pressure, Fabian.

:13:27. > :13:33.There was a lot of pressure, because after the Olympics year, you have to

:13:34. > :13:36.prove that you can do it again. The preparation was not that long

:13:37. > :13:41.because I spent a lot of my time on my study. For these Europeans, more

:13:42. > :13:49.time to prepare, and I expect more of myself. Studying to become a

:13:50. > :13:57.doctor? Right now, I have to do internships, in hospitals, but I can

:13:58. > :14:02.do it part-time. Both of us, we are always in touch. We both wanted to

:14:03. > :14:05.be in the final. We are good friends, we have known each other

:14:06. > :14:11.for more than ten years. We always say in touch and he is a nice guy.

:14:12. > :14:15.We will have a nice battle. Both of us are going to raise up the

:14:16. > :14:20.difficulty in the final, so we will see. Six weeks ago, he was in doubt

:14:21. > :14:24.if he could compete because he had some trouble with his shoulder. It

:14:25. > :14:30.was disappointing to me because he is that good, that I have to do the

:14:31. > :14:33.best that I can to beat him. That is a big goal to compete with him, so I

:14:34. > :14:40.am really happy that he is healthy right now, healthy enough, and I can

:14:41. > :14:46.trust that he will do very well in this competition. We will have

:14:47. > :14:50.another battle, which starts at zero points, so the best one will win. I

:14:51. > :14:55.have improved a little bit on high bars, so hopefully I can get closer

:14:56. > :15:00.to him this time and maybe I can beat him. That is a big motivation,

:15:01. > :15:01.but I just want both of us to hit our routines and just have a good

:15:02. > :15:43.battle. Here is Fabian Hambuchen. A highly

:15:44. > :15:49.decorated gymnast. A really talented high bar performer.

:15:50. > :15:57.Gymnasts are allowed to be lifted up. He winds up with the big full

:15:58. > :16:13.twisting co-Fach in the straight position. Oh! That was a nasty Cain

:16:14. > :16:20.under the bar. You have such speed, he caught the bar. He obviously

:16:21. > :16:28.didn't quite get over. That was a bit of a nasty fall. He's definitely

:16:29. > :16:32.winded himself. The speed he was coming through the bottom there. He

:16:33. > :16:39.was going for full stretch catch, lovely hide.

:16:40. > :16:47.He must have severely winded himself. Not wise to continue under

:16:48. > :16:53.those circumstances. He looks OK but he will be stiff and sore. He

:16:54. > :16:58.wouldn't get back on and do himself any justice at all. The most

:16:59. > :17:00.important thing he -- see was able to get up and walk away from the

:17:01. > :17:18.apparatus. It is the turn of Great Britain. Sam

:17:19. > :17:22.Oldham stepping up a little earlier than he thought he might have to

:17:23. > :17:33.Hambuchen's fall. A silver medallist in Moscow.

:17:34. > :17:47.Here comes the big release. Full twist in the co-Fach in the tuck

:17:48. > :17:48.position. The Tkachev, he's working out of these elements. The half-tone

:17:49. > :18:13.very smoothly up into the handstand. That close element. Now winds up,

:18:14. > :18:20.changes the swing again. Uptight, two twists, beautiful landing. Very

:18:21. > :18:25.good work. British gymnasts delighted up there. You can see the

:18:26. > :18:29.juniors who freely stormed this Championships. Fantastic, Junior

:18:30. > :18:33.European champion on the high bar. To go up after the first ball and

:18:34. > :18:39.deliver a routine like that was as good as he could do. Just look at

:18:40. > :18:40.this, straight from the start. That is the marker love, catching on

:18:41. > :18:58.straight arms. That is the straddle Tkachev with

:18:59. > :19:23.half-tone. -- turn. He winds up, kicks high into the

:19:24. > :19:29.air, wraps in, double twist in, double back. He's happy with that.

:19:30. > :19:42.It is a little down on his qualifying score.

:19:43. > :19:47.For Switzerland, here is Oliver Hegi. 21 years old, in his first

:19:48. > :20:01.major final. Very nice. The extra full twist.

:20:02. > :20:03.Release the bar, one and a half twists... He stalled it likely on

:20:04. > :20:13.that full turn. -- stalled it slightly. Just a

:20:14. > :20:16.little bit short on control on those couple of elements. Regained his

:20:17. > :20:26.composure now. Single twist in the double straight

:20:27. > :20:32.with a step. Some great work there but a couple of little areas where

:20:33. > :20:38.you can see... You can see he is relieved. The release, with one and

:20:39. > :20:45.a half twists to re-catch, something you used to do, Craig. Yes. Very

:20:46. > :20:52.difficult. It's called the DEET double F. Really difficult to keep

:20:53. > :21:06.your legs jammed together, which he did. He was slightly laboured. The

:21:07. > :21:16.judges will be looking out for that. There's the Healy turn. Not just

:21:17. > :21:22.flat in the shoulders on the invert. Winds up nice. Kicks up and hide.

:21:23. > :21:24.Just the full twist in, double back straight with a step back on the

:21:25. > :21:38.dismount. Sam Oldham still leads the way.

:21:39. > :21:40.Could Kristian Thomas beat that? I'm sure he will be very keen to give a

:21:41. > :22:09.great performance. Into the straight Tkachev and the

:22:10. > :22:14.Tkachev to mixed grip. Lovely swing. All important to maintain the swing

:22:15. > :22:21.as you work. Full turn out of the endo. Straight into... Really good

:22:22. > :22:27.swing. He's got to give it everything on the dismount. Just a

:22:28. > :22:32.little pace, but that was fabulous work from Kristian Thomas. It would

:22:33. > :22:37.be good to see a smile. That was packed with the highest difficulty.

:22:38. > :22:40.That straight Tkachev with full twist is absolute top drawer. Really

:22:41. > :23:02.did nail everything in this routine. Hop forwards, squat, bang into the

:23:03. > :23:06.handstand, so precise. That's the straight Tkachev, catching on

:23:07. > :23:12.straight arms, straight arm out. Then we see again, there's the

:23:13. > :23:18.straddle Tkachev with a half turn. Then he winds up into the dismount.

:23:19. > :23:23.Nice, straight legs, kicks high above the bar. Nice extended full

:23:24. > :23:26.twist. One step back on the landing. Well, I think we might just have a

:23:27. > :23:35.new leader. I think you could be right. He goes

:23:36. > :23:39.into second place. Sam Oldham keeps his place in the gold-medal

:23:40. > :23:51.possession, but it's silver at the moment for Kristian Thomas.

:23:52. > :23:57.Epke Zonderland aiming to go straight in at the top year if he

:23:58. > :24:25.can. Zonderland without doubt the most

:24:26. > :24:27.exciting gymnast on the high bar. He's so fast, he swings round this

:24:28. > :24:40.so quickly. Look at that, straight into the

:24:41. > :24:45.front somersault over the bar. That is two of the most difficult moves

:24:46. > :24:46.in the code linked together. That's where he gets his enormous

:24:47. > :25:05.difficulty score from. Really got lots of energy, lots of

:25:06. > :25:11.speed. Double twist in the double straight. That is really special.

:25:12. > :25:21.This was just absolute classic gymnastics. Beautiful line. Really

:25:22. > :25:28.accelerates and works the bar. The full twist in, double straight, the

:25:29. > :25:37.casino. Then he does another one for good measure.

:25:38. > :25:47.Straight into the Gaylord to over the bar. Hop full turn, bang into

:25:48. > :25:53.the handstand. We have said in the past he has lost a bit of form, but

:25:54. > :26:03.he has really tarted up his routine. Double twisting, double back. Will

:26:04. > :26:08.it be a 16? 15.866. The rockets into the gold medal position. He's the

:26:09. > :26:09.world and Olympic champion. No doubt soon to be confirmed European

:26:10. > :26:34.champion. First of all stepping up, Kristian

:26:35. > :26:39.Thomas, his first individual medal at the European Championships,

:26:40. > :26:44.taking the bronze. Kristian Thomas would probably have expected it to

:26:45. > :26:50.be a vault medal, if anything. Delighted with these medals.

:26:51. > :26:56.Kristian Thomas, from the girls gymnastics club, Sam Oldham, from

:26:57. > :27:01.Huntingdon. Repeating his feet of silver from last year. No doubt we

:27:02. > :27:07.will have further accolades coming his way in the future. Epke

:27:08. > :27:12.Zonderland, such a tremendous high bar gymnast, so exciting to watch.

:27:13. > :27:20.Up on top of the podium, European champion again. He adds it to his

:27:21. > :27:25.world and Olympic titles. Bronze and silver for Great Britain on high

:27:26. > :27:29.bar. Standing alongside one of the great high bar gymnasts, Epke

:27:30. > :27:37.Zonderland. That is going to be a photograph to savour.

:27:38. > :27:44.You made it look easy today. Daily it's definitely not easy. On high

:27:45. > :27:48.bar, my biggest rival fell down. I felt really sorry for him but also

:27:49. > :27:55.for the competition, because when he sets a good score, it triggers me to

:27:56. > :27:57.do my ultimate best. But now it is sometimes even harder to do a good

:27:58. > :27:59.routine because sometimes even harder to do a good

:28:00. > :28:03.you know you don't sometimes even harder to do a good

:28:04. > :28:09.best. I know that I have to focus and try to show my best routine.

:28:10. > :28:15.Congratulations, your first European individual medal. Yeah, it was a

:28:16. > :28:19.pretty close call. I finished fourth two or three times in finals, so I

:28:20. > :28:21.was praying that wouldn't happen again. Fortunately for me I

:28:22. > :28:28.delivered the goods today and came up with the bronze medal. I'm over

:28:29. > :28:31.the moon. I'm pretty speechless. I thought that Bible, I was training

:28:32. > :28:36.in the other gym, my big routine. I was going to put out a 6.9 or seven.

:28:37. > :28:40.As soon as that happened, the first ball, a serious injury, I

:28:41. > :28:58.straightaway switched my tactics and went with the routine I've done all

:28:59. > :29:01.this week. That's a lot of experience I've had in the last few

:29:02. > :29:03.years. But I'm incredibly happy and proud to be on the podium with this

:29:04. > :29:06.man, Kristian Thomas as well. He's been a team-mate of mine for a long

:29:07. > :29:08.time, team captain, and we've been roommates for this trip as well.

:29:09. > :29:11.Such an amazing competition, we've won so many medals, to finish it

:29:12. > :29:14.with two medals both on the podium, it's an amazing day. As a former

:29:15. > :29:21.European silver medallist, he did look

:29:22. > :29:21.European silver medallist, he did gym. Maybe I would have been tempted

:29:22. > :29:27.to bang it out there after that final because somebody has got to

:29:28. > :29:31.try and push Epke Zonderland a bit more, I think. He was streets

:29:32. > :29:43.ahead. It's remarkable. You see various different things. Where is

:29:44. > :29:44.ahead. It's remarkable. You see the ceiling for this? Epke

:29:45. > :29:49.Zonderland is always pushing the boundaries. You have always got to

:29:50. > :29:56.have that one person that is pushing, and the others will follow.

:29:57. > :30:00.I think I would go with what Sam decided, he saw that Fabian had had

:30:01. > :30:05.that fall, and obviously, he knew that he could get a medal. He had

:30:06. > :30:09.qualified in fourth, so it was a safe play. Let's have another little

:30:10. > :30:20.luck at Epke Zonderland, let's treat ourselves. He used to be a lot more

:30:21. > :30:24.wild with his actual form, Craig? Yes, he has really tidied up over

:30:25. > :30:31.the last few years. I like the way he catches. That is a full twisting

:30:32. > :30:38.Kovacs. In the past, he has been really close on the bar. There was

:30:39. > :30:42.just one part in the routine where he was a little bit wild. If you

:30:43. > :30:50.look here, from the Stalder, that was the only bit. He absolutely bang

:30:51. > :30:55.that dismount. And you are sitting in Mitch Fenner's seat at the

:30:56. > :30:58.moment, and he is now the performance director for the

:30:59. > :31:04.Netherlands, and doing a great job. I know that he has been mailing him

:31:05. > :31:11.for his leg form, if you like. Let's have another little look at Sam's

:31:12. > :31:18.routine, the easier one! When I say that, I use that term loosely. What

:31:19. > :31:24.he has done, he has executed it really well. It was probably the

:31:25. > :31:29.most sensible thing for him to do, once Hambuechen was out of there. He

:31:30. > :31:35.had a real medal opportunity all of a sudden. And he delivered. There

:31:36. > :31:41.was probably some questions back at home about, should he be in the

:31:42. > :31:48.team? And he did really well. It is worth mentioning, just as Sam

:31:49. > :31:53.absolutely nails that landing, that the word is that Fabian Hambuechen

:31:54. > :32:00.is all right. He was winded but he is all right. Obviously Kristian

:32:01. > :32:05.Thomas got bronze on the high bar, but we are now going to have a look

:32:06. > :32:11.at Dan Purvis, the first of the individual apparatus finals. This

:32:12. > :32:14.yes, much better than the qualification. He has already won

:32:15. > :32:18.runs medal in the European Championships before on the floor.

:32:19. > :32:23.For a couple of years he has been really pushing to get amongst the

:32:24. > :32:28.medals and just been a little bit short, but today, he was dead on the

:32:29. > :32:33.money. Could not be more happy for him. We talked about difficulty and

:32:34. > :32:41.which routine to go for, Max went for a very difficult one? Yes, up

:32:42. > :32:46.against Berki, trying to push for that European title, absolutely

:32:47. > :32:51.fantastic to go all out. He has worked really hard, and full credit

:32:52. > :32:55.to him. What a Championships it has been. There is still plenty more

:32:56. > :33:01.sport coming up for you on BBC Two. Next a documentary on the young

:33:02. > :33:08.golfing sensation who helped Europe win the Solheim cup last year. If

:33:09. > :33:12.you are in Scotland, you can see that on Wednesday. That is then

:33:13. > :33:21.followed by more golf, from Wentworth. But it is goodbye from

:33:22. > :33:25.what has been the most successful European Championships ever for

:33:26. > :33:28.British gymnastics. Everything is on target for the worlds in October,

:33:29. > :33:34.with the joy of the Commonwealths in between. There will be coverage

:33:35. > :34:09.across the BBC. We hope you can join us then four more medals. Goodbye.

:34:10. > :34:12.MUSIC: "Kickin' It Up" by Virus Syndicate

:34:13. > :34:16.# Because I do what I want I be kickin' it up

:34:17. > :34:18.# I be livin' it up Kickin' it up

:34:19. > :34:21.# Cos I be livin' it up And never give it up... #