All-Around and Apparatus Highlights Gymnastics: European Championships

A good afternoon and welcome to coverage of the European gymnastics

champ sthip. A sport which Britain have been well known for. It is

difficult to put into words what happened in Rio last summer. So we

will let the gymnastics do the talking. Medal and medal. What an

Olympics Great Britain have had. Let's get ready to tumble and fly

with gymnastics. Stylish gymnast, starts off cleanly. He has to go for

broke. Beautifully performed. Big release. Goodlad. Wow, what a

routine. Looking very at home. What a cool customer. Niall Wilson makes

history. The Briony Paige wins. Amy Tinkler. The Olympic champion. Well

done Lewis. He takes silver. Max Whit lock is now a double Olympic

champion. What an Olympics Great Britain have had. Quite something.

Quite something wasn't it? There is plenty more to talk about from the

last 24 hours at the European Championships in Cluj in Romania and

I'm joined by greatness, with Beth Tweddle and Kristian Thomas. Happy

memories from the summer? Yes, it seems so long ago and watching that

back you get the shivers going up and down your spine, the opportunity

to see how special that was for British gymnastics. It was

fantastic. I'm saying sitting there watching it, you're not competing,

it is evidence the British team has taken on a different shape since

Rio. Yes, most of the lads there, as with myself, yeah, everybody's just

regaining a bit of their training and their strength work they had

lost with having time off. We are at a point where they're building up

slowly and staying away from injuries. So Here is who has

qualified. Would you have expected the lads to

do that well, relatively new faces? Absolutely. Because I have had the

privilege of training with some of these guys, I have seen what they're

capable of. It is a great opportunity to show case their

gymnastics, I wasn't surprised they made the finals and I'm looking

forward to seeing what they can do. Now Beth the women's team.

Alice Kinsella a new face. Great qualification. It was and I think

that we have a mixture of youth and experience. Eilie is still so young.

We have three of our members of Rio and that will give Alice the

confidence that knowing that she is competing with those guys and if

there is any issues, she can talk to them and they know what is expected.

It is quite something that the seniors can have the ability to take

a rest and yet let those others come through. With the usual crew

stepping aside the door is open for other members of British squad to

make their mark on Europe. So let's meet two men grasping that

opportunity in their first major senior competition. 21-year-old

James Hall and 18-year-old Joe Fraser. How much are you enjoying

being here as part of senior team? I'm really enjoying being part of

senior team. We have all come together as a team and we are all

helping each other push through the barriers. James, you have been

around the British senior teams for a long time now, you have been

reserve in some big competition, now you're out there, what's it been

like. It was hard to predict what it would feel like, I was expecting to

be supported by everyone and for it to go smoothly. It didn't feel any

different from the British Championships, nerves - wise. I did

my job and it paid off. You did well at the British Championships as

well? Yes from the British Championships for me was quite an

experience, because I became British champion and that is something that

we didn't expect to happen to be honest, because we just wanted to

try some new elements and see how I broke into the senior team. But to

come away British champion was a great experience. James Hall, Great

Britain. You came third in qualifying for the all-round. How

happy are you with that? Very. For my first senior Championships, I

wasn't concentrating on what place I was going to finish, I thought get

into the all-round final and put on a show and third mrafs is not bad.

Will you get to the final, do you give yourself a goal to place. I

focus on clean routines and then the result will come after that. How

would you rate your chances here of getting into the top three and

getting a medal? To be honest, I haven't thought about it too much. I

don't want to overthink it as it were. But if I do the same as

yesterday, and step it up a notch it's anything is possible. Anything

can happen. They're both sounding very relaxed! And we should mention

for the scores, those watching will sort of see lower scores than usual,

because of the new code? Yes after the Olympics the rules get changed a

bit. So they have to rethink their routine and put different

requirements no. Normally for the men's all round, when we see them at

the Olympics, they were scoring 92 and 91. You will be more to 86 and

85. So don't be surprised if the scores are lower. There is an

opportunity for lots of gymnasts coming through with the different

shape of their routines. The all-round final took place yesterday

morning. So let's see how well James Hall and Joe Fraser did. Here are

the highlights of men's all-round final and I was in the commentary

box. Now to 18-year-old J Fraser from

Great Britain. His first senior competition this. His first of six

pieces of apparatus. Control at the start. Back up rise

to the Maltese. A bit high in the shoulders. But these are big

strength moves for a young gymnast. Nice and fluent, the double pike

into the double front and much stronger in the back up rise. Slight

arm bend there. Good line in the hand sfand. -- stand. Beautiful

forward long swing. Showing great control. Has to fight a bit in the

backward long swing. Controls it well. Winds up, into the miscount.

Double twist and double back. Solid on the landing. Good start. Very

good start of the last year he was the European junior all-round bronze

medallist. He got a gold on parallel bars and third on pommels as well.

So no stranger to this stage if you like. It's just now he's in a

different age group, Chris. That's right. It is always a shock to the

system when you go up to the seniors when you have been very good in the

junior ranks. But he is a very good competitor. He just needs to remain

consistent, stay calm and keep going. 13.633 for Joe Fraser.

He is the all-round Russian champion. Beautiful start. Full

twist, immediate two and a half twist. It is linking the difficult

skims that bill your -- skills that build your difficulty. Compact

gymnast. And a double twisting double back. Didn't even use the

full extent of the floor area. Quite a short run and again a short run.

Two and a half. Double twisting front. Packing the difficulties

together. This will be a high D score. He is not going to have too

shoddy an E score. The D score is for difficulty. The E score is for

execution. And his execution, look at the beautifully extended toes and

legs. Really stylish. Big last trim twist and that's the

way you -- triple twist and that is the way you land a tumble. The

second highest qualifier is on song today. That was something special,

he did four tumbles back-to-back at the start. Verniaiev, current

all-round European champion. He has made the floor final. So prepare for

fireworks. But it is going to be performance for performance with him

and his competitor. He is being chased. We haven't seen him in this

position. Oh, a three and a half twist into a full twisting front.

That was a big error. Just shows the pressure. Another fantastic twisting

series there. Lovely double twisting, double back. He is in his

stride a bit more now. I was about to say we have seen him chasing, but

we haven't seen him being chased. It is quite a different feeling. He

doesn't really look edgy. I just think he tried to be slightly too

perfect. As Craig said, he has done a lot of competitions. He is very

slight and strong. Just a little edgy on that landing. He looks

strapped actually. Shoulder and ankles. Very nice triple twist to

finish. But it says it all on his face, when your first tumble pass

has your hand down. It was a huge opening tumble. That fall, he will

probably lose a connection bonus. But the rest of the time his routine

was back on it. 14.766. It is a huge floor score for Verniaiev. Very much

down on his opponent. Here is the leader board.

Vern yooif Verniaiev has a lot of work to do in 15th.

I don't care how experienced you are, you still be only pressure a

little bit. So Verniaiev mixes way to the pommel horse, he has

qualified for the pommel horse final in seventh. Here he goes. Excellent

single leg work into the hands stand, one of the most difficult

pommel horse routines. Up into the handstand with pirouette, slight

adjustment, but nothing too major. Picks up nicely into the double leg

circle sweep, onto the one handle, that builds the difficulty there.

Intricate work between the handles, that is the Russian Wendy swing.

Going well, building the difficulty, got to keep the momentum. The travel

is really difficult stuff, combines it into the Russian circle on the

end. Oh, come on, the forward travel Mike Ellicock a slightly skewed,

that is deductible. -- Magyar. A little bit of line but job done. He

is through, and that is the main thing! That face said it all! Put

your hand guards on and get onto the rings, that is what that face was!

He lived with the pressure, a difficult routine, he probably might

have felt that he was approaching today able to pull back on

difficulty, when you have mucked up your first piece, you know you have

to go for it, haven't you? 14.5, Verniaiev looks in a bid of

amazement and says, I will have that! Now, thought of qualification

in his mind, this was his lowest peace in qualification. He will get

through, hopefully. Started strong on the single leg work, this is nice

to say, the flares with a spindle half turn. He is very square with

his hand position, that is a good sign of good pommel work. Really

interesting travel, so not only stylish but inventive. A little bit

of loss of form, brushing of the horse, so a little bit of strength

there. I think you should have done a pirouette on dismount, but I think

that will score better than his qualification. 13.366 for Ignatyev.

So there we have it, James Hall, confirmation, ahead of Verniaiev,

Casimir Schmidt in third. This is the third piece of apparatus

of six, so just a reminder, James Hall from Great Britain leading the

men's all-around competition. 5.4 on difficulty. Backward rise to the

Maltese. A little bit high, nice in the swing, double front, into the

Maltese. Nice in the double front, double

pike, linked well, back-up to the straddle planche. This is really

good, solid work, come on, James! Hang on. Locked out well in the

handstand, forward long swing, come on! Hang on! Backward long swing,

slight adjustment, but controlled it well. Double twisting double back,

get in, son, have some of that! Well, he has got just over half a

mark on Verniaiev. That was a great performance from James. 13.8, very

good FOI James Hall. Cracking competition so far. Davtyan, in

fourth at the moment. Just waiting for vault. This is a very important

piece of apparatus for Davtyan in fourth, this could catapult him into

the medals. And he is renowned on vault, beautiful twist, just

slightly offline. Lovely straight body, two and a half twists.

Handspring right up into the rafters. You can see why he is a

good vaulter. The score is in, 14.833, it is a very big score.

Well, Verniaiev now on rings, his third of six pieces of apparatus.

Currently in second place behind Great Britain's James Hall. Well,

that is a strong start, circles around to the Maltese, flat with the

rings, that is the position we are looking for, look at that, shoulders

and body level. And into the crucifix. This gymnast has it all on

this piece of apparatus, for me, strength and swing, double tuck,

double pike. Into crucifix, that is strong work. 6 difficulty, so one of

the stronger competitors. No mistake in the back-up rise. Locks out the

handstand. Swings forward, this is good, classy work, waits for the

dismount, double twisting double back, nails it! Verniaiev is on the

money! Well, that is why he is the current all-around European

champion, doing everything he can to try to retain that title. He is

fighting hard, he is not about to roll over. He might have made a

mistake previously, but this was beautiful work. 14.700 on the rings!

There you go, he has gone ahead of Great Britain's James Hall.

Confirmation that Davtyan leads halfway around, ahead of Verniaiev,

James Hall in third, with Ignatyev in fourth, Joe Fraser in seventh at

the moment for Great Britain. Artur Dalaloyan was leading at the

first piece of apparatus, dropped down to tenth, now in fifth, a score

of 14.900 in qualification, so we might see a score over 15 from him,

Dalaloyan with it all to do, his fourth piece.

Good round off, a triple twist, they don't come much better than that!

Goodness, we have seen gymnasts not quite get around, that was as clean

as a whistle. This guy is built for power, look at this, Yu can go,

blocks on, that will score big. 14.933, so very close to the 15

mark. Verniaiev qualified fourth for the vault final. Second place at

this piece of apparatus is over so, so quickly. He is such a slight

gymnast, but so explosive, and he needs to be today - double front

with the half turn, that was massive! That was how do answer

pressure. Wow! It just hit the roof, didn't it? We were talking about his

ability to spot the landings and what have you, but he gives himself

so much time in the air to perform his gymnastics. We will be back

there shortly for the score, but Davtyan is chalking up for P bars,

the current leader. Not one other stronger pieces of apparatus, he

will have to work extremely hard. Nice and blighted, the under

somersault, that is good work. -- flighted. We don't want to see any

bent arms on parallel bars. Somersault, a little bit of a hop

around, lift to handstand. That is the swing, half turn, full turn,

front up rise. Could just do with a little bit more pace, huge double

pike, and enough time to nail the lending role. Not the most difficult

piece of apparatus, but very, very clean, keeping the pressure on. He

scored 13.633 as far as qualification is concerned, he needs

to be up close to the 14s. Verniaiev, 14.700. Ignatyev was in

fourth going into this. Oh, a big move backwards! That was the

handspring double front without they half turn, so not such a high

tariff. 13.700, confirmation for Davtyan. To bring you up to date

with Joe Fraser. Lovely early release, caught on straight arms. He

is very good only apparatus, full twisting straight, Kovacs, one of

the most difficult moves you will see. And then in attack position,

times it beautifully. Long gymnast. Nice smooth one armed circle into

his close bar work. Pirouettes are good as well, he turns on top of the

bar. Winds up for the dismount, here it comes, two twists, double

straight. Wow. Very nice work indeed from Joe Fraser. He just hits you

with potential, when you watch like that, the style and flair on a piece

like Eibar, the British Eibar champion scored 13.8 00. -- I are.

This is how things stand at the rotation four with James Hall still

in the hunt for a medal. Come on, Verniaiev. World champion.

Yeah, this is your piece. Oh, just a joy to watch, two times European

champion on this piece of apparatus. He has done them all, European,

world and Olympic. And this is a lesson in parallel bar

work. Look at that, straight into handstand, arms locked out there,

somersault, half turn, to one bar, oh, he had to fight there, an

adjustment, but he has got the combination, the Healy turn. Very

difficult skill. Look at the height, the transfer from under two over the

bars, and again. Virtuoso performance. A little bit dished

through the swing on the Healy turn. Have to fight on the struts. Not

flawless, by any means, but it has got the difficulty, double front

half turn, replicates the vault. Well, the current leader goes

through, but how costly will those deductions be as far as his

execution is concerned? He managed to hang onto the difficulty. Well,

it was a very edgy performance, wasn't it? He struggles to lock out,

the whole idea is that you hit your position, hold it strongly, and he

made that hard work. So Ignatyev, the second gymnast in his group to

go up on parallel bars, he qualified with 14.2 33. Solid start, under

somersault into the dip out. Good, clean work on the under somersault,

beautiful combination, very difficult, front up rise into the

double back somersault, we don't see that. Again, from upper arm in

support, two double backs from two starting positions. Nice on the

swing, great control. Variety, front up rise oh, double front somersault,

high in the air, just lost control and landed! But beautiful parallel

bar work, really innovative. Yes, but he is just being a bit unsteady

on all his landings. So James Hall from Great Britain, two pieces of

apparatus left to go, two more chances to get up into the medals in

this men's all-around European final. Well, this is going to be the

test for him. His favoured peace, a little bit short on the under

somersault. Nice, clean, high flight there. A little bit of a leg split,

arching the back, and adjustment, come on, James. A bit of a in the

bottom on the Healy turn as well. -- a bit of a. That is better! High in

the straddle front, catches into the bent arms support, difficult skill,

nice lining handstand. Come on, keep going! Double front, lands it! Very

good! Oh it is on, I tell you what - it is on, goodness me, one more

piece of apparatus to go, and Chris, under that kind of pressure, I do

not know if he could have done it much better!

Well Joan James, he is a lovely guy. He was the reserve in 2015 and that

was a great performance. Fabulous, really thrilled for him. Just one

more piece to go, James, hang on in there! The next gymnast up is

Dalaloyan. James scored 14.16 6. Dalaloyan is just over a mark behind

Verniaiev. A strong start. That is good flight. Positive hand

placement. High in the front somersault. Clean catch. This is

good parallel bar work. Good extension. You see a few piking

that, but that was very solid. Accurate with the hand placements.

Straight up to hand stand. This is good work. Needs to hang on. Big

front up rise. A little adjustment. But well solid and constructed

routine. He is the last one in the pack to go. So we will get a good

idea of standings hopefully after that. He is a very impressive young

jam nas. -- gymnast. He creates lot of energy. Zippy! Is the word, yes!

So this is a big performance. Very big.

There is two pieces of apparatus to go for them. That was smooth. That

counts as your release and recatch. Nice turn. That was a little offhand

stand that shoot out. The half turn. Not so difficult. We haven't seen

any big releases. Here we come just a double twisting, double tap

dismount. Nicely performed but that will not carry so much difficulty as

many of the routines we have seen. And there was only just 0.1 between

him and James Hall in fourth. So James should go ahead of him. But

will he stay in fourth or can he get into the medals? We will find out

shortly. 13.16 6. He will drop way out there.

Davatyan has dropped into fifth. Looking good for James Hall.

This is the final rotation of men's European all-round final. Chasing a

medal. That was a good turn. Full twist in the straight somersault

over the bar. And in the tuck position. Super straight, swings out

well. Lovely turn on top of the bar. One arm circle, doesn't faulter in

the swing. But the pirouette was late. He has given a few marks to

the judges. Much cleaner that time. So here we go, big dispount, the two

twists. That was a strong challenge. He has laid down the gauntlet there.

My word. He has indeed. That is definitely the performance to beat

for a medal. Big on the difficulty, but also room for lots of execution

deductions. Didn't give much away on the dismount, did he? No. Ignatyev

there. Get the calculators out now. Now the final piece of apparatus.

13.4 to stay ahead. All of that training boils down to

this one routine. This all-round final. James Hall for Great Britain

going for a medal. You have go for it. Here you can see him start the

big series. Oh and he caught. Full twist in the straight position. He

has got another one of these. Without the twist this time. And

another with the twist. In the tuck shape. Must pirouette as well now.

Squat with the full turn. Has to show the different grips. He has

done that so far. The coach anxiously by. Full pirouette. Her

here comes the dismount. Double twist. Double straight. Well done,

James, wh a fantastic performance. All round six pieces. Wow! Really

hats off to you. Well, he wore his heart on his sleeve there. He went

all out and if you're going to go out and win yourself a medal, that

is how you do it. There is a couple of times his hand was on so late, I

thought he was off the bar. But yur right, hoe just went for -- but

you're right he went for everything. And he only needs 13.4 to go up

there. Relief. Job done. 14.1 for James Hall. Now Dalaloyan. This has

to be perfect to stay ahead of James. Lovely first recatch. Two

super somersaults over the bar. Just as on parallel bars, he is a gymnast

with lots of energy. Lovely turn in hand stands. Huge, straight. Extends

the feet behind him. Lovely full turn into the hand stand position.

Hop over the bar. He also is going for broke here. Lovely style, those

legs locked together. Turn into the forward grip. Swinging full turn.

Just needs a good, strong dismount. Here is comes, two twichs - twists

and a well landed dismount. You can see him relishing in that pressure,

which says a lot about him as a gymnast. So chasing Verniaiev, he

wants to stay ahead of James Hall as well. But what a competition he has

had. One slight hiccup in the middle. But your going to get that.

One last gymnast to go. 14.4 then for Dalaloyan. He has definitely got

silver, but James Hall is guaranteed a bronze. Fantastic. And I think

Verniaiev has got his work cut out here. So then the last gymnast, the

current all-round champion, looking to retain his title with this high

bar routine. He has had one difficult combination successfully

performed. Mixed grip. Swings out of it nicely. ? Hand stand, goes t

correct way. He maintains the swing so well. Once he relaxes a little.

He has been so tense today and edgy. Hen he relaxes, he is such a

well-timed gymnast. Come on here, make it to the clean dismount. Just

the step. This is going to be very tight. Yeah, he was 0.8 ahead of

Dalaloyan going into this. It is going to be close. But we think it's

-- enough. I think it is enough as well. He made an error on that turn

but managed to regrip his hand. We have watched some of the high bar

workers catching close. He understands how to work the high bar

and swing it. His in bar work is clean. Might not be his best piece,

but I think a well deserved European champion. A big deal to come to try

and retain that title. Maybe that was the reason why he wanted to keep

going. 14 scored. It is enough. He retains his title. As the finest

all-round gymnast in all of Europe. Even with the little adjustments, it

was a stylish routine. He just upped it a bit as well. But what about

that, James Hall, first major competition for GB, picks up a

bronze. Wait and see how Joe Fraser. At 19 might even be in the top ten.

What an outing for Great Britain. There is your top three. James

hasn't got a flag! Get up there, son. Just hold up your track suit

top! That will do! I'm not saying he wasn't expected to win! But that

will do. Confirmation of the results of the the all-round final.

If it was a man of the match, it has got to be Joe Fraser. I don't know

what he had or the breakfast. It must have been porridge. James Hall

at twenty one, gets his opportunity in is in men's all-round final and

he makes his mark with a bronze medal. I'm trying to compose myself,

I can't believe it. Third place, I have been to World Cups and I have

always hit fourth, fifth or sixth. To come to a European Championships

and do my best and come away third, it's... I can't get my head around

it. Sum up the season so far. Speechless. I'm speechless. Me and

James, it is our first senior major and this is not something we

expected to do. When we have come here and showed the whole of Europe

that we are about and what we are capable of. We are just so happy.

Looking further ahead, it is World Championship, no Max Whit lock, you

will think you have staked a claim to be in the team? 100%. They're

great gymnasts, but they have got their work cut out and I'm chasing

them. You can't stop me. A word from you, as the captain of the British

team, how proud you must be and what you think it means for James. Yes, I

think from start to finish he looked so calm and composed from every

apparatus and got stronger and stronger as the competition went on.

I think for him, this sort of competition is going to lift his

confidence and his motivation to get back in the gym. Do you think he has

needed that? He has been plugging away and this is his opportunity.

Now he needs to build on this. I've full faith he will. Beth, he is only

21. It feels like he has been around for a long time. But this could be

his chapter. He has always been there or thereabouts, but I just

think it the shows what a good position British gymnastics is in to

take out the big names and still have that strength in-depth. To come

home with a third and a fifth place and Joe is only 18. What do you

think it showed about Joe being there? From a competition and

composure perspective. To go from that junior to senior can be a big

leap and he has done it within 12 months and for some that can be

quite overwhelming to walk into a stadium and compete alongside the

likes of Verniaiev. He took it in his stride. He has that character

that is very chilled out. So I think that's played to his strength and he

has been able to go and do his routines as he does in the gym. And

Verniaiev, it is quite something to have no rest from Rio, to come out

and retain that title snoochlty he just - - He just keeps going and he

was under pressure and we saw that where he took the stumble. But he

took the title. James polls medal was relatively

unexpected, but Ellie Downie made history as the first British gymnast

to qualify for all the finals, a lot of pressure and expectation, this is

how she was feeling head of these championships.

I think I just go out there and feel quite confident in myself now, cos

we know how many routines we've done in the gym, how many times we have

competed, even if performances do not go to plan, you know that you

can do those skills but you just have to put everything aside and

concentrate on that, and definitely all these competitions have just

helped me go into every other competition. I have always been good

at vaults, so I think when I was about 13, I started doing dumb are

competing, and I'm 17 now, still doing the same vault, so I think

when I go into competition, it is totally second nature, I can just

relax. Well, not relax, but I know what I'm doing, I think about

sticking the landing. But yeah, vault is my special piece, really.

Ever since I was little, I have always done floor tumbles, four, and

we have gone down to three, we have upgraded it, my old first tumble is

now my second, so we have added some new ones, added a couple more

difficult leaps, and I have a new choreography for this year which I

really love, the crowd really get involved, and it is different for

me. I am not want to perform, as in like facial expressions and stuff,

and this time I have to work hard to get that in, and I think it

definitely helps, I think the judges and the crowd love it. After Rio, I

was not too pleased with my performances, they could have gone a

lot better, so probably for about a month I really shot off from

gymnastics and took a step back. But as soon as my coach was like, you

ready to come back in the gym? Yeah, I am, and I wouldn't say I enjoyed

it, but I was looking back to getting back to full fitness,

getting on the bars, and I did miss it when I wasn't in the gym. I would

probably say I have never enjoy the the -- enjoyed it more than I am

now. I worked really well with my coach, having Becky there is even

better, and I just think we are really into our training now, which

ain't smart, we train well, just to make sure we are as ready as we can

be for competitions. -- we train smart, we train well.

Got the green light, needs to be something powerful, attacks, yet

Janco, double twist, that is a cracking vault right down the

middle. Plenty of high corrupting, legs glued together, that is why she

was second in the all-around in the qualifications. Hands go quickly to

the platform, blocks of lovely and clean, two twists, textbook really,

not giving too much away to the judges. 14.600 from Kovacs. You can

see the determination in the eyes of Ellie Downie. Nice little smile, but

it is down to business. Last few words to herself, come on, Ellie,

powerful attack, double twist, what about that?! That has answered the

question! Slight adjustment on the landing but absolutely magnificent

vaulting. She blocks so well, dead straight arms, launches up into the

air, waits for the twist, really cleanly round. 14.566, she is in

second at the moment. Dos Santos from France, the gymnast has

qualified for the bars final, so she will make everything absolutely

right, this is their chance to get her all-around competition off to a

flyer. Dos Santos from France, seventh highest qualifier. Starts

well from the lower bar, transfers to the high, great stooping

Tkatchev, down to the low bar. Good in the handstand, back to the low

bar, got to squeeze the back, good turn there, and into the invert,

great half turn. Winds up to the dismount, can she hang on? Full

twisting double back! Well, what a guest mount! Superstar there on the

bars. Well, a very good bar routine, really showed a good variety of

skills. One moment in the middle, but she did well to pull it back,

Chris. She did indeed, she showed lovely inverse swings. Double

straight with full twist, one of the most difficult dismounts you will

see. Let's hope we are staying with Alice

on the floor, Christine, do you want to talk us through this?

LAUGHTER Come on, Alice! Come on, Alice! She

did it very well yesterday, just the same, please. Important spin coming

up, she needs to control this. That was good. And she starts with a

difficult combination tumble. Needs to focus hard, one and a half walk

out into the two and a half, nicely landed.

Now, this time a triple twist, one of the most difficult tumbles for

her. Cleanly done! Now, every gymnast has to include a

leap series, this is the leap series, jetee, change league half,

into the splits. These days they have to include a

forward somersault, just a little hop. Also has to include a double

somersault, which she has not done yet. So a big test here, needs to

land this double pike well. She does. Well done, Alice, that was a

great second piece! What a superb performance, and you have to

remember, up until a few days ago, Alice didn't realise she was going

to be here! So, I mean, she is doing incredibly well, when you consider

that, Chris! Yes, very proud of her, she came out at a moment's notice,

no warm up on the podium, just got stuck straight in. 12.800 for Alice

Kinsella's floor, happy with that, coach? The same as yesterday, so it

must be very consistent! Onto the leader of this competition at the

moment, Zsofia Kovacs, the first gymnast to go, Ellie Downie will be

next. So start on the lower bar, stoop in, Paul turn, a little bit

late, nice release. Down to the low bar, coach hovering, not needed.

Back up to the high bar, as do Path, little split of the legs, pipe

Jager, France somersault. -- front. Can she hang on for the dismount? A

little bit of a stumble on the landing, so that will cost her

slightly. But a very good routine. Plenty of difficulty. Felt a little

rushed for me, I don't know why, just forcing it? Do you know? I

don't think it helps to have the coach hovering, it makes you think

she is anxious about it, but a very nice stoop half, changes to its

travel position for the dismount, up into a very nice high full twisting

double back. Still in the lead, Kovacs, 14.333. And now it is the

turn of Ellie Downie. Only four pieces of apparatus, this is the

second one. Needs to hold her nerve. Opting to start on the lower bar,

nice hop in the handstand, stoop on half turn. Great tip there to the

high bar, straight into the clear circle Tkatchev, big, difficult

routine. Full turn, into another Tkatchev, straight to the low bar,

working well, good in the handstand, there is the half turn, back to the

top bar, come on, Ellie! Hold an! Kicks for the dismount, double

layout, well done indeed! Very, very strong! Well, she was in second

going into this performance. Well done, Ellie! Yes, very, very

determined throughout that. I mean, for me it didn't feel like she was

in any doubt of coming off there. She has really pleased this routine

together well, and she has got a routine that she is comfortable

with, really. She is not always so confident on the pirouette skills,

which is what his sister is particularly good at, and they have

just put one in near the beginning, but that this mount is lovely. --

dismount. She is in second half way round. Thorsdottir now, a gymnast

with quite a bit of experience at 18 years old, 12th in the last

all-around competition here at the Euros. Good line in the handstand on

the low bar, lovely from the hide to the low. Handstand nice, transfers

with the half turn, full turn into the handstand, very clean.

Forward long swing into the straddle France somersault, that is the

Jager, back into the handstand. Oh, out of alignment, I think she caught

the bottom bar, that just stopped the momentum for that backward long

swing. She had done all the hard work, this was a relatively simple

link. You looked at the commitment, she was driving through that

routine, and it seems so out of character, that moment. Yes, very

out of character, because she is a precise gymnast, you can see. Well,

she was in third, but I'm afraid, after that,... That is a mark

straightaway, back onto the bars for the dismount, a bit late now, but

full twisting double back in the tuck position. Well, what a shame

for that routine, because after that point, beautiful and elegant. Very

much so, and you can see on her face and her coach's face, it is so easy

to do, you do the difficult stuff, you think, right, I am there, then

something catches you out. Even the easiest thing is difficult if you do

not pay attention to it. How do you train for that moment? Hopefully

they do and when they are quite young, and you say, remember this

day, you will not finish until you are finished, do not pledge of

concentration go until you are sitting on the seat waiting for the

score. 12.366 is the result of that, 15 years old, Eremina from Russia.

Starting on the top bar, straight into handstand, must be something

big. Huge straight Tkatchev, down to the lower bar. Back up, a little bit

of daylight split on the half turn, but look at the handstand line, that

is good. Nice and pace, I into the front, Jager somersault. That looked

available later from this angle, dismount will come. Well, classy bar

work. Very classy, that is the skill of the championships, the straight

Tkatchev here. This is the stoop, and if you do not put your feet on,

so it is a stoop, that goes at a level for everything. That was a

nice dismount, wasn't it? Eremina 14.3. Into third. This

confirmation as it stands, half way round. Not much room between the top

two. First up Great Britain, Ellie

Downie, currently in second place. This the third piece of four. Just a

quiet start. She needs to get her rhythm and keep it.

Very nicely through the first somer salt with the split jump. This is

the skill that is so hazardous. Yes, she has nailed it. There is still

plenty to do. Needs to focus on this leap series. Change leg. Change leg

half. And here another very difficult skill, double spin. Oh,

well done Ellie, she held on there! You have to join two acrobatic

skills. This is our back flip and lay out. Again, she is fighting. Two

jumps. One more acrobatic. The free cartwheel Just building for the

dismount. Big focus. Make the round off, plant the feet. Two and a half

twists. What a great finish. That was excellent. She could have fallen

off that double spin as easy as easy. She probably limited it to a

0.5 deduction. She fought every step of the way there and she wasn't

giving that away. She knows she is very much in contention for a medal.

Absolutely. Oh, my word! 13.06 6 and it goes into the lead at the moment.

Oh, my word. One piece to go. Floor left for Ellie Downie. Down to the

others now. It is and you know she has thrown that down to them.

Watching the young French gymnast. A step out of floor! Don't seem to

have the music. That is because this was happening just moments ago with

Dos Santos on floor. Another unsteady landing.

That was a bit low. That is the sort of deduction the judges will make if

a leap is a bit low. Straight font, full twisting front. This is very

popular this spin in the crouch position as well. You have to

include at least three spins and leaps in the eight moves. Super

double tack, that was her best landing of the routine.

Kim Bui is next to go. Made the bars and the floor finals.

She 12.7 in qualification. Very experienced gymnast. Using a very

difficult mount. Back flip and Sommer saument. --

somer salt. That is our acrobatic series done. Many gymnasts opting

for that as a series. Two leaps. They have to join the two leaps. And

include the full spin. Passage of dance down on the beam.

Another requirement. Such a test of balance and

consistency. So important to do every move exactly the same. Each

time. Little wobbles. Those are all the marks that add up, the little

wobbles are deducted from the 10 execution score. And a relatively

quiet dismount. A straight gainer off the end. Much more difficult

than it looks, because you have to travel away. A fighting performance.

But she will be happy that she finishes without a fall.

So Eremina, in third at the moment. Oh, and she is off straightaway. And

I'm always amazed when you're such a beautiful gymnast as she is that you

use that big mount. Because, look, that is beautiful work. A mount like

that is so difficult. Just a little hesitation there. But what a shame.

She really is so classy. All the technique is correct. You know, she

has dead straight legs. Toes pointed. She is beautifully supple,

so her hips are square. Well I'm not sure they would count that, though I

was hoping she was hoping for it to be called a full turn and a jump. It

was a half and a half turning on the beam. Nice splits leap. She is edgy.

Not surprisingly, because having had a fall. There is the change leg leap

and the split dump that didn't actual -- jump that didn't actually

hit splits. Disappointing performance. Still a lot of very

good work and now a big dismount. Lovely triple twist to finish.

Beautifully performed. But the damage was done at the beginning.

Such a difficult mount to the beam. I like the mount, but you say packed

with difficulty. There is the layout. Acrobatic series, more

precise on that and you wonder, start with something simpler and

build up. She has got the work there and then it made her a bit edgy for

the rest of the performance and stands up, big dismount, triple

twist. This is is where it will hot up. Kovacs, when you think of the

next piece of apparatus and Downie has a half a mark up on difficulty.

A mark from qualification. So she is going to have to pull something out

of the bag here. Pressure is really on this routine. The leader then.

And nice quiet mount. Gets herself on to the beam. Lovely free walk

over. Strong. Change leg quarter. Showing the side ways piece of dance

that all the gymnasts have to include. Little pause. Back flip and

lay out securely done. Oh, a little shy on that change leg half. You

have to show the splits. Very nice side somersault. She floated that.

Quite a classical gymnast. And good free cartwheel. Very nice

technically. We haven't seen any big major skills here. Up for the

dismount. Good strong double tuck. She didn't give much away, but the

start score will not be massive. Ellie scored 13.06 for beam. So keep

your eyes peeled. In qualification her difficulty was 5.1. 13. 466 is a

big score. Keeps her in the lead at the moment. Ahead of Ellie Downie.

Alice has moved up now into sixth place.

Interesting stuff. This 0.667 between first and second at the

moment. We join Kim Bui in fifth. This her floor routine. Strong,

powerful gymnast. Super double straight opener.

Just a double tuck in the middle. Going for safety.

The leap series. And she whips that extra half turn in well.

And the two and a half twist, fulfilling the requirements.

Out to the corner, smoothly into this final tumble. This is a clean,

confident routine. Very good, Kim Bui. Well 13.16 6 in qualification.

5.2 on the difficulty. She has the got the power and the tumbles. Happy

with that in fifth. She has qualified for floor. If you like

that routine, you can see it again. Watch the tumble here. Plenty of

power. Big tumble, double straight. For any jam -- gymnast an expressive

routine and a confident performance and power at the end. That is the

second tumble. The double tuck. I think this is the double pike to

finish. Nice and high. 13.4 for Kim Bui. Just a reminder, Kovacs was

leading and Downie was in second and Eremina third. So on to the gymnast

in third place. Eremina from Russia. Qualified third for the floor final.

Can she get up to second with this? Well landed, full twisting double

back. The judges will deduct for that. They will probably credit. But

a nice split on the leap. One and a half, the walk out. Into the two and

a half. Really well performed. Got that easy style. A big long

pause. Big tumble coming up. Double tuck. And a step out of the floor.

Well not so completely secure, but it Wurz very elegant -- was very

elegant, nicely performed. Bui the gymnast behind her scored 13.4. That

was a good high score. Certainly applies the pressure. Eremina 13.3.

This is Christine's gymnast, I am sure you feel a long way away from

her sitting here in Manchester! I do, one more piece. I am going to

let you do this, Christine, come an! She needs to hit a good handstand,

she does, needs to turn with control. Oh! I cannot think the last

time she missed that in competition. Such a long time. What a shame. Cos

no she doesn't have a forward element either, so that is a big

shame, because she has worked on all her difficult pieces. Well, emotions

will be running high for her right now, I am so sorry, Chris. No,

goodness, that is sport, she did it beautifully yesterday to qualify,

she probably has also seen where she lives. Flight down to the low bar,

legs locked together, smoothly up to the high bar, beautiful handstand,

shapes, actually. Into a nice double pike, good landing, such a shame,

because she just went for the arm stretch and missed it, but she has

had a great championships. Now it is the turn of Zsofia Kovacs, who is

leading this competition as it stands. She scored 12.837 in

qualification. This is her bid for a gold medal.

Elegant, quiet start, nice full turning jump.

Good strong double straight somersault.

Full twisting double back, it is all in there.

Just a relatively simple spin but cleanly through the loops. Full

twisting front. Relatively simple, but it has to be included, the

forward somersault. Needs this big final tumble, double

tag, it is a good landing. -- tuck. Well, you have to say this young

lady has been very consistent, very calm, very controlled in all of her

performances today. And very cleverly constructed routines as

well, it means she hangs onto a good amount of difficulty but can execute

them beautifully, this is going to be a tough challenge to beat.

13.033, so she is the gymnast to beat for Ellie Downie, who will be

next to go on for. She needs more than 13.570 to go ahead of Eremina

and steel that bronze. A bit of pressure, can she do it? It is going

to be the double twist Yurchenko. Oh, beautiful height there! Just

over cook sit a little bit, but super flight on the top of that

vault, wraps in for the double twist, huge bounce back, such a

spread knee, dynamic gymnast, Christine. She really is, so much

height and flight, she almost cannot control it. Dos Santos goes up into

second. And up Ellie goes. She has got to go for broke. Easy leap. Come

on, Ellie, big first tumble! Double twisting double tuck, lands easily.

And this is the difficult tumble that is essential, the one one half

walk out into the double Arabian. A little stutter, but she holds on.

Come on, Ellie! Big tumble, double pike, puts her feet down

beautifully. Here is the big leap to finish.

Well, a grade from a routine, you can see the emotion there. -- well,

a great floor routine. Do you know what? She fought, and the two steps,

it was a good compromise, to be fair. She has really held that

emotion in and harvested today, very good performance. Look at that!

Ellie Downie has done it! She is the new all-around European champion!

She makes history as the first gymnast ever from Great Britain to

take gold in an all-around European gymnastics final!

European champion Elissa Downie! I actually have no words, that was

one of the hardest competitions I have done, I was quite tired from

yesterday, so to come back out and do my routines, I felt different

this time, the bars went well, but was shaky, and then floor, I tried

to nudge them and not watch anybody else's routine, just focus on my

own. After my second tumble pass, I wasn't sure, but I would have been

happy with second. When the score came through, I was speechless, I

don't have words. What did your sisters say to you? She was

speechless as I am, she just said, massive well done, she had my mum on

face time with my brothers and sisters, it is a massive thing, I

didn't realise how massive it was. Well, it will settle in, but what a

title, we have talked at length about the fact that this is the

first time that a British gymnast, male or female, has meddled like

that, got gold in the all-around, what does it mean, to break the fact

that it has never happened before? It is massive, she had qualification

the days before, the girls had a tough qualification schedule, she

competed late in the afternoon, then do all four pieces. She also

qualified first, so looking at the medal table, I could be stood on the

podium. A lot of the pressure will have come from within her, she

wanted to replicate. She had a tough build-up to the competition,

nationals a couple of weeks ago, she landed short. She had to take a bit

of time off to rest. So to go out and perform, you could see the

relief, every time she did a piece, OK, one down, move onto the next. We

will have another look at her floor routine, chasing for the whole

competition. She was, but we knew she had a powerful floor routine

which she has upgraded this season, great to see the first tumble,

double back with double twist, hugely difficult. Then the fact that

her second tumble is what most people cannot even use as their

first, one and a half in two double Arabian is difficult enough on its

own. When you are very familiar with! To second, she was going for

the landing, you saw her stagger back, and she spoke about it in the

interview, she was thinking, have I done enough? Budget has got the

composure to carry on and really sell this routine. -- but she has

got. She seems to really enjoy performing it. It seems, I don't

know what you think, Kristian, but psychologically, the fight within

her, it is really going to help going forward, competing with the

Americans, for example. Absolutely, she is already performing way above

her age category, only 17 years old, a lot of people forget that. She

went out, that was the last apparatus, at the two days of

training, there will be mental and physical fatigue, and she has got

the grit between her teeth to pick herself up, keep pushing, keep

fighting, and I think, the way that she can carry on training, if she

can keep on top of it, she has mentioned about the training, a good

back at home, with her coach and his sister, if she stays on top of that,

I think the sky is the limit. And we have to talk about Alice Kinsella,

who finished tenth and fell, and she wasn't expecting to even be part of

the European Championships. No, she was back at home, she missed the

podium training, which for most gymnast is the opportunity to get

used to the equipment. She literally flew out, 30 seconds on each piece,

made the all-around final, then went into it with nothing to lose, and

her performances really showed this. It was a real shame to have that

fall on bars, but the fact that she got back up and finished the

routine, you can see it here, very little deduction, credit to her

strength of character, to be able to do that. And maybe without that

fall, she could have finished around fifth place, but she was there

because of an absence with Amy Tinkler, so do you know what is

happening with Amy? So she is back in the gym training, she had some

time-out after Rio, a bit like Max has done, but she's not quite back

to full fitness, so she decided to stay at home, get the training. The

World Championships, for most of these girls, is the big game. The

Europeans is a nice stepping stone, but it is better to stay at home and

get fully fit, get out to Canada at the end of the year. It is nice that

gymnasts can make the selectors think, all exciting stuff! So having

crowned the all-around champions, it is now time for the specialists to

show what they can do out in Transylvania. The top eight gymnasts

after qualification are competing in each of the apparatus finals, and

qualifying for the men's floor for Great Britain is another new face,

Dominick Cunningham. What is your experience been like in

Romania so far? I thought it would be a massive difference, being at

the European Championships, I always here it is different, but it does

always been the same, my boys, my coach, come out, do your job, go

back and rest. It has been nice, it has been really good. You seem to be

quite outgoing, because when you do well, it looks like you know about

it! That is right! All the hard work that we have put in, it is nice to

see it pay and the day, lots of different changes, even the day

before, having to change things a tiny bit, different speeds, so it

has been nice to watch it come off in competitions. What is it like, in

the last few years, it must have been tough watching other people

being in the team? I have been fighting for this position for a

long time, getting World Cup medals on floor and vault, it is all about

making progress, this experience, it just shows that I am on this stage,

I have got this opportunity, and I need to grab it. So that is what I

have done yesterday, I am in the finals now, no more games, I am 21,

I am not in the sport for ever. Dominick Cunningham for Great

Britain opens the floor final. Dominick Cunningham, Great Britain.

Can he hold the nerve? First tumble, it will be big, double twisting,

double back in the straight position.

One and a half twists, into the double twist. Really powering in the

difficulties. Double twisting, double back, again in the tuck

position. Just that slight adjustment on landing, but going

well so far. High into a double front. That is a very difficult

skill to land. Down into the circle work. We see this on the pommel

horse. Known as the Russian Wendy. They have to hold two seconds.

Works well. Two and a half twists, into the one and a half. Great

connection. Come on Dominic, hold on! Into the triple twist, takes the

landing well. Dominic Cunningham, what a start. There is his coach Lee

Walls, applauds a very good start. Such a dynamic, spatially aware

gymnast. This was a good balance of difficult work and good landings.

Really nicely done. The triple twist at the end, so clean and so well

landed. 13. 14.3. A defendanty -- difficulty

of 6. Artem Dolgopyat, 20 years of age

from Israel. Second gymnast. Powerful double front somersault

with the half turn. Difficult opening tumble. Full twist into the

two and a half. That wasn't just round. So that will be a big

deduction. Much better there. Double twisting, double back. A bit of a

nrvey start. -- nervy start. That's better. Two and a half into the

double twist. One and a half into the one and a half with ease. It

looked like a bit of a stumble there. Down into the circle. Swing.

There is the sound. Final tumble. Got to hold the concentration.

Stands up, trim twist. Difficult routine. But there were errors. Just

a bit of a nervy performance. He has got some lovely qualities though.

Difficult for these young gymnasts. It is a difficult format. Straight

out with no warm up and huge tumbling. This hand spring with the

half turn, that was a fabulous opening landing. He got a little

more anxious as time went on. This was the step back and the step out.

He tried to recover it. Only a 0.1 for stepping out. That is where the

marks go. Certainly got the difficulty, 6.3 in qualification.

6.3 again. A 14.333. He goes into the lead ahead of Dominic

Cunningham. Shatilov from Israel, second Israeli gymnast in the final.

Known as the tall one, six foot. Oh, very good opening tumble. Double

pike, front somersault with half turn. Good in the twist there. Two

and a half into the double twist. Gymnasts allowed to combine two

tempo elements. Better there. That is the double twisting, double back

in the tuck position. Nice combination. 30 years of age and

showing all of his experience. Very clean double twist. Locked those

feet together in the Wendy swing. Going well so far. That is the

sound, the final tumble. Can he hold on? Full twisting double back with

ease. He's happy with that one. What a performance from Shatilov on the

floor. As you said, showing all his experience there. Knows all about

this format, having to control the bounce of floor. Thrilled with that

performance. And there's the fist tumble. That was quite a low

landing. He had to hop forward at the end of it. But that was really

the only landing that was low. Super combination, three somersaults in a

row. Hops the heels together there. Lovely and precise in the shape. Off

his hands. Lifts up into the air. Very impressive final tumble. Full

twisting double back. He was happy with that. Qualified in third place.

The door's open now. Well he's happy with that. That puts him into the

lead. A 6 difficulty, but the highest execution so far. 8.4. Home

crowd favourite, Dragulescu, the most experienced gymnast in the

competition. 36 years of age. Such a power chl gymnast. Double

front, half turn to start. Rebounds out the floor. Into the twist

combination with ease. Linking three skills together.

Full, into the two and a half. Making it look easy. Lift to hand

stand. His first Olympicing in 2000 - Olympics in 2004. Good there.

Stands up, triple twist, shoulders high on the landing. One of the most

difficult routines you will see in the final. A full twist into a one

and a half. He is going for broke. Qualified in second place. He needs

to hang on. If he is going to add another title. Come on! Double

twisting, double back, just that little adjustment on landing, but

what a routine from this 36-year-old. Fantastic. He has lost

none of that power and enthusiasm for the sport. That was a great

performance. Actually there is his old team mate who is now the

national coach. That proves how old he is. What about that? Lovely

technique. Nigh travels on those twisting tumbles. And his landing

was so secure and strong. Have to hold that balance. Which he does

beautifully. And the final tumble of double twisting double back to

finish with is very impressive. Nadia Komenech there. He is the only

gymnast apart from her to win four European gold medals. He may beat

her if he gets one here. He will make history for Romania. And he has

done it. 14.5. Top score today. A 6.2 in difficulty. Well, that's made

it all worthwhile for Romania. What a great performance from Dragulescu.

This young man is something special. Dimitri Lankin from Russia. Keep

your eyes open. The new kid on the block. He is 20 years of age. Stands

up. A triple back somersault, yes, that is three somersaults on the

floor, the highest difficulty you can get. Good in the twist. Three

and a half full twist, a bit snatched on the full. There we go

again. A little adjustment on the landing. This is the most difficult

routine of the finalists. Double Arabia with half out.

Wide arm. Japanese hand stand. He has got so much power. Straight

front into a double front. Good combination. Triple twist. Little

adjustment. It might have been the most difficult, but it has certainly

not been the cleanest for me. But what an exciting performer. Well,

the best triple back on the floor area I have seen. Really something

special. This young generation of Russians look very exciting. Not

quite the finished article at the moment, but wow, he is going to be.

He is going to be difficult to beat in the future. Just count the somer

salts, one, two, three and he just made it look like he had done a

standing tuck back at the finish. Super three and a half twist into

front full. Just a little stutter. Really super work. He is very good

at twisting. But those landings weren't quite so secure. That is

where the marks will be thrown away. His difficulty score will probably

be the highest. But will his E score? I doubt it. Good finish. 14.

466. Puts him into second. Execution down in the 806. But it was a

special routine. And Romania take their first medal of this

Championship. Marian Dragulescu, 37, still got all the power and the

enthusiasm for the sport. Gold medallist. So Dragulescu takes the

gold. Really such a high level final. That

was fantastic. Your first senior major final? It was fantastic. I did

another good job. A few landings not out of control, but it was great and

did a good job for the team and I'm happy to walk away from qualifying

in eighth to coming into fifth and only two tenths off a gold. You have

got the vault tomorrow. Confident about that? Yes, I'm excited to get

out on to vault, knowing how I enjoyed it and the crowd were behind

me. I like being out there. I'm looking forward to being so close to

a medal. I hope to start grabbing the medals. The crowd went crazesy

when Dragulescu got the gold? Yes when you're doing your routine it is

silent and it is just the way to control it. It felt like I was at

home in the gym. When he got gold it was fantastic to see it. He is 37 I

believe, so he is still going. Hopefully that is what I will be in

a few years with that gold medal as well. Let's hope so. That is the

thing, getting fired up and you don't know how you're going to

compete when you get into the arena. If you can add that extra spark and

fire? I think Dragulescu has been known

for that, you could see from his celebration, you can see how much it

means to them, the crowd loves, Romania loves sin, so to be coming

away at his age as European champion, absolutely incredible,

what an ambassador for the sport. Kristian, you won that title back in

2015, you are 28, whom doing it again now at 37, 36, 37, that is

some accolade. It really is, and full credit to him, it is is her

lifestyle, you have to make sure you are eating correctly, having the

right sleep, your family life is correct. Everything about it would

revolve around gymnastics. All those details matter, they all add up to

those big performances. Full credit to him to be able to not just train

but do every little detail, pay attention to those details, and that

is why he is still where he is, at that top level. We talked a little

bit about the changes in the code, the chapel backs and everything, we

get the chance to see that, and Dmitrii Lankin does not even start

in the corner of the floor when he does this. It is just incredible, to

see tumbles like this, you hope the younger gymnasts will look up to

those skills and think, obviously, with that difficulty comes risk, can

you nail the landings? We were just chatting about the difference in the

floor final, the difference was whether you took a step or not.

Obviously, the floor has drastically changed, even in the last five or

six years, it is more bouncy, so you will see bigger skills coming in. Is

there a possibility of a quad? He had a lot of hype there, he might

have practised it. I am 100% certain he will have done it at some point,

training into the foam pit. The way that the sport is going, the way it

is moving forward, everyone is trying to move the sport on, make it

more appealing to the crowd, so no doubt, somewhere in the near future,

there will be a quad coming in. The mind boggles, it really does! Still

lots more finals to come for you this afternoon, most of which

involve Ellie Downie, and the next challenge is vault. She was superb

yesterday, she got a great start in the all-around competition, there we

go, look, plenty of height, just what you need to get the competition

off to a flying start. She is no stranger to the vault medal podium

at the European Championships, winning silver last year.

Representing Netherlands, Volleman. And most gymnasts opting for their

favoured vault first, this is the double twisting straight Yurchenko.

Powers down the runway, two twists, a little bit and tidy on the legs,

but lots of height, chest was well up on landing. A little bit and tidy

with the feed, a little adjustment on landing. Good height, and that is

what they look at, blocking from the top, a bit of a split in the feed,

down for landing. Beautiful straight arm block, which is what gives her

the hide in the air and the time for the twists. 14.400 for Tisha

Volleman, first vault. Here comes the second vault, 5.2. Remember, has

to be the forward entry this time, she went on backwards last time.

Same powerful run, the halve turn, the straight front, halve turn,

nicely done, down the middle. Really efficient vault by this young

gymnast. Very powerful round off, there is the half turn, good contact

with the hands, well within the zone. Super second vault. Really

does block from the top. If anything, just a little bit and tidy

with the feed on both vaults. Yes, but much better with direction,

confident landing. We have to keep our eye on the screen to see if they

show the second vault and the average all in one. An average of 14

plus, 13.967 in qualification. I think that might well have been

better, that was really good. So second vault, 14.100 gives an

average of 14.125, Tisha Volleman is the current leader in this women's

vault final. Elissa Downie, Great Britain! Next on to vault,

representing Great Britain, it is Ellie Downie. Well, we saw her

perform fantastically yesterday, as she got enough in the locker to do

it again today? Really good power, but for hide and left, lovely

landing, no doubt about it at all. -- beautiful height and lived.

Beautiful double twist, she has enormous power and style. The judges

making their assessment. This is the best block so far for me, legs and

feet she absolutely went for broke on that landing, and I think the

legs went a little bit. Anybody else would have buckled, but it just

proves the determination. Double twist, solid first vault for Becky

Downie. Ellie Downie, sorry, in the excitement! So that was her

favourite vault, the one she used for the all-around competition. And

you are doing four pieces of apparatus, you only need to do one

vault, only in the finals do you need to do two. The score for the

first vault, 14.4 00. So this also will be the half turn, and needs to

show control and commitment here. Big round off, turns along, blocks,

lovely straight body shape, super vault, that really was classy. GB

supporters in the crowd. Showing some real consistency now in her

gymnastics, look at this, so powerful, have turn, handspring

blocks, plenty of time to spot the flaw. The locked together, legs

straight. -- feet locked together, legs straight. Good body shape,

Chester well up. Well, it was tough to come out here, not too long,

certainly less than 24 hours after creating history. 14.350 average for

Ellie Downie, moves into first place.

The Hungarian gymnasts have been very good at these championships so

far, this looks determined, powerful, strong, lovely double

twist, legs crossed a little bit, which the judges will deduct four,

but bags of energy and flight. Here we go, we can see again, really

blocked off the top, probably the highest double twist we have seen so

far, certainly got the height. As you said, Chris, just a little bit

of a split on the feet, so the judges will pick that up, a little

hop on the landing. Judges looking for height, flight and length. I

think most of the ladies are doing the double twist Yurchenko in this

final. Yes, to be a serious contender these days, you need to be

at least double twisting this vault. They get such good flight off the

top. The score comes in for Devai, Hungary, 14.400 for the first vault.

So far, it is the second vault that has divided the gymnasts. Very

similar scores for the first vault for them all so far. Really attacks,

oh, and that was a very nice vault as well, half turn, straight shape

in the air, they are delighted with that. Absolutely delighted!

This was exceptionally well performed, executed better, in my

mind, than the first vault, straight down the middle, good block, she

really does contact the top of the horse well, and transfers that into

height, which gives you a lot more time to spot the landing and have

less deductions. Beautiful straight body shape in the air. So moves into

second place, 14.317 average for Devai from Hungary. Next up,

representing Russia, Maria Paseka. This is the gymnast with the

pedigree and the big vault, although starting with the quieter one, half

turn on, straight front, not the best of what we have seen today. She

started with the slightly less difficult vault, she has been

training a very difficult to land a half twist Yurchenko in training,

although she did not compete it in finals. -- two and a half twist. Of

big legs split on the half turn, then the pike down and the step to

the side. We have seen her perform vault better than that. You can see

somebody in the crowd was thinking exactly the same! And I think that

is a vault she struggles with, even though it is the easier one, she has

opted to get it out of the way first while she is fresh. But going for

the big second vault. Olympic medallist on vault. Watching

anxiously for the score to come in. Well strapped ankles, hips. Wrists.

Wrists. Score comes in, Maria Paseka, 14.033 for the first vault.

So she has posted the 5.8 difficulty, this is the two and a

half twist in straight somersault off the vault. Flips, lifts, two and

a half twists, and she makes it, a little stutter backwards, but a

clean landing, cleanly through the twists. Lots of relief in the

Russian camp there. It is a big vault, this, highest

difficulty, Yurchenko, blocks, two and a half twists, deep in the

landing, still with the legs split, did very well to save the landing

there. 14.412 in qualification, so she needs every bit of that if she

wants to take the vault title. Current leader is Ellie Downie, 14.3

50. You saw the judges there with their pencils, writing down the

deductions they can see. Obviously, she can afford to have more

deductions because the tariff is higher. It was out of 15.8, that

vault, so the deductions are taken off that 15.8. Of the score comes

in, not good enough today, average of 14.283 points Paseka into third

place. So representing France, Coline Devillard. And we have seen

great work from the French gymnasts this championships, and a super

handspring straight front with one and a half twists, lovely vault

there. Lovely vaulting there. Little tiny

gymnast compared to the others. But loads of power. Certainly packed

with power. Look at that huge block off the top. Wraps in, one and a

half twists, straight down the middle. Combination of two vaults.

These are the highest scoring vaults, difficulty-wise in this

final. Should score well. And the coach giving her a bit of advice for

the second vault. Full of passion and advice, you can see from the

practice she is probably going to flip on for this one. These gymnasts

showing good variety of vault. We have seen a huge hand spring vault.

The score is big 14.6. Second vault. Well, if she can watch this second

vault too the first, she's in with a shot. Political party on. Double

twist. A little bit wild. But a very good vault. That could, that could

be a winning vault. Don't sit on the fence Christine! She's even done a

celebration dance. They must do that in France as well. A double twist

and such a powerful vault from a little gymnast. If anything, arms a

little bit skewed on the top. But with that big first vault of 14.633.

I think this is good enough to go into first place. She posted the

highest score of anybody for the first vault and that was a second

vault equal in value, which no one else has managed to produce. The

coach seems to think she has done enough. There we have cop firm -

confirmed 14.467. To Devillard of France. Just 17, will be crowned the

European vault champion. And huge scenes of emotion here and quite

interestingly France, Great Britain and Hungary on the podium again.

Exactly the same as in the all-round. Difficult gymnasts, but

they're the countries making the noise here. Ellie Downie had to wait

until the end. Held first place until the last gymnast. But she

knows that the French girl had a higher tariff second vault and that

is really what made the day. Here is the moment then that Ellie

Downie gets medal No 2 and remember, she qualified for every single

final. So she must be feeling pretty exhausted. More from her at bars

final to come. Let's reflection on the vault final. We saw the majority

of them opting for the same vault. Yes and I think that is what

separated the French girl out. She had the first vault that was higher,

that gave her the edge. The Russian girl for second did try and had

those staggers back. Christine, as a world vault medallist, yourself, how

do you prepare yourself for that second vault. Both have to be

different. They must feel different. Yes, I think from my own experience,

no matter whether the vault was good or bad, you have to compose

yourself. There is a lot of anxiety to get started and perhaps rush on

the technique. So I found it helpful to think about the basics, think

about one thing you have got to do right and clear your mind. Well it

worked for Devillard. Without the presence of Lewis Smith or Max

Whitlock, it is no surprise the other pommel horse workers in Europe

are relishing the opportunities. It has been nine years since a British

gymnast hasn't been in the pommel final. But the Hungarian Christian

Berki is back. Here is how the top eight got on.

First gymnast. Starts with the single leg work. Picks up that.

That's the double leg circle. Good extension. The hips above the horse.

That builds the difficulty. The flop series. Into hand stand. Keeps the

momentum going. This is difficult work. Good difficult work between

the handles. That is a Russian circle. Travelling backwards again

on the end. On again. Travels forwards. If the gymnasts are

slightly skewed, the hand back, there is a deduction. But working

well, into the hand stand pirouette. A good start. That was a good

routine from Merdinyan from Armenia. It is always nervy to be the first

person. But he did well. He controlled the nerves. He kept his

rhythm. That was a very good opening performance. The only thing I can

see there is the deduction for his shoulders not being in line. The

skewing is I was talking about, something the judges are picking on,

and that will be 0.3 for every circle. So he has the difficulty.

It's the execution. His difficulty was 6 ppt 1 in qualification. --

6.1. So a different set of judges now. At big championships like this,

you have different set and the judges will have to be countries

without people in the finals. 14.833. Good execution. That is a

big score to set down for the first performer.

Great Russian gymnast. Very compact gymnast. Straight into the hand

stand. Interesting one handle work there. That is the flop sequence

that brings difficulty. Really difficult work. Full spindle. Notice

how he keeps the momentum going. Feet locked together. Travelling

backwards. Height above the pommel and the hips. That is good. No

problems there. Pirouette in the hand stand.

David Belyskiy does well. He has not contested the all-round. But he has

been the leader of the Russian team for the past few years. That was a

signature move on the one arm. Lovely style. You can see the

extension through the hips. Holds the body out. Technically a very

good gymnast. Swings smoothly up into the hand stand. That is what

you want to see for the dismount. The coaches are happy. If you can

keep your coaches happy, then you have done all right. Certainly if

you were my coach, I wouldn't want to upset you! But he picked up a

silver in the 2016 Europeans. He is going to have to work hard to push

Berki today. 15.1 puts him into first. He is very happy with that

performance. And here the master of the pommel

horse. Won everything. Tremendous pommel horse worker from Hungary,

Christian Berki. 5'10". Six European titles. Three world titles and the

Olympic champion from 2012. Extension, separation on that single

leg work. Superb. Picks up into the double circles. Working the one

handle. And again. Great extension. Feet locked together. Russian circle

between the handles. Down to the end and travels along the horse. A

master at work. Forward travel. Magyar into the back toward travel,

up into the hand stand. Well, that is how you do a pommel routine.

Berki from Hungary. Absolute class. Beautiful style. Beautiful line.

Swings with such a good, straight body. A tall gymnast. It is more

impressive when you can see how long he is. 15.2 in qualification.

Certainly looked good to me. And we have a long line of traditional good

pommel workers. Talk about the move the Magyar travel, performed by

Magyar from Hungary many years ago. Interestingly his difficulty score

was below that of Belyavsskiy in qualifying. It was executed superbly

and I think that should go into the lead. Pretty confident on that. But

how much? Could be European title No 7. You don't have to be a pommel

expert to notice class and style of his work. From the start with the

single leg separation. To the tempo of the routine. The judges... There

is six of them. Two counting the defendanty. -- difficulty. Four

evaluating the mistakes. And it's second for Berki. A 9 in execution.

6.2 in difficulty. A bit below. The winner is David Belyavskiy. There

was some confusion over why Berki didn't get the gold there and if you

could see on the graphic it said there was a penalty of 0.3, because

he didn't start within the time aloud at the beginning. And give

everybody an idea, you have a green light. Your name comes up and it

would have a red light. As soon as it turns green, you have 30 seconds

to start. So obviously we didn't see the scoreboard, but it looks like he

has gone over that 30 second and gets a penalty. If you go over one

minute you're not allowed to start. He was able to continues, but lost

that three points. We can look back at the footage. Because he had his

back to where the green light was that he was unaware. It has gone

green there. Yes, as Beth said you have the 30 seconds and I mean once

you walk to the actual pom ever horse, he -- pommel horse he has his

back to it and he is not aware of what time the clock is on. And

somebody with his experience you would think he is aware of how long

he has got and that probably is something like this wouldn't happen

with someone of his experience. But it is very unfortunately.

I feel sorry for him, he a dad, coming back as a husband and father

to try to get this title again, number seven, and as far as his

gymnastics were concerned, he won. It is a new cycle, the judges have

all just taken exams, so all of the rules are fresh in their minds, so

any deduction they will be looking to take it. Unfortunately, he will

be kicking himself tonight to know that technically he was the best,

and to lose it, it didn't even look like we were just wondering whether

he was warming up, not quite ready. But it looks like he was looking up

at the scoreboard in the ceiling, not aware of the one behind him. He

has just lost track of time. Well, Belyavskiy is a class act, if you're

going to give it to anyone, give it to him, I suppose. It was

interesting watching that without any British entry! Absolutely! I

think Belyavskiy stepped up to the mark, he has got that consistency

that he bats lacked earlier, but he is stepping up and producing these

big result in a regular basis, definitely a force to be contended

with an pommel horse over this next cycle leading up to Tokyo. Women's

bars now, and it is not just Ellie Downie who is handy in the gym, her

sister also holds two European titles and has been a big part of

the British team for many years. She is outcompeting alongside her sister

on bars, and here is her take on her new routine.

Qualifying was actually pretty good, the routine I put out, I think I did

a good job, considering. There is a potential upgrade that we could put

in for the final, an extra 0.10, but I know I will be placed last, I can

make the decision on what everyone else has done before me and just

enjoy it. I have got a brand-new release at the end of my routine.

The routine that I was working all the way up to Rio, or at least the

last two years working up had a major release, and sometimes it paid

off, but at Rio I called my feet on the bar, the same other World

Championships, and I wanted that risk to go. As a result, we had to

change my old release, put that at the start, and then learn a new one,

so it has been a quick process, I have only been doing it for four

months, so I am pleased I have got it in, we have taken the starting

value down a bit to put this new skill in, then we'll rebuild the

routine in a different way. Representing Great Britain, Ellie

Downie. Well, she has had some sort of schedule here, Ellie Downie, hops

into the forward grip, every gymnast has to show a forward grip, into the

Tkatchev, short clear Tkatchev, now the all-important fall pirouette,

cleanly into the stoop Tkachev, down to the Pak salto, really fitting it

all in now, up with the half turn, cleanly over the bar. Super

handstand shape, just the dismount to negotiate, a little hop back,

well done, Elie! Well done, Ellie, a third day in a row, producing that

big spectacular bar routine. Very impressive work. Great resilience.

What a championships she is having, look at the flight there, up to the

top bar, clear circle into the Tkatchev, difficult work. You can

see the hand placement, straight into another Tkatchev, down to the

lower bar, and this is a big this amount, the double layout, great

extension, adjustment on landing. Shoot trusted herself, she let it

go, she let it flow. She didn't try to fight it. When you are weary, as

she must be why now, three days of competition, that is the only way to

go - trust yourself, work with the apparatus, and she surely did that

today. She scored 14.266 in qualification. I think the pirouette

was a little bit later today, the pirouette is meant to try and finish

in handstand or as close to. The score comes in, 14.133 for Ellie

Downie, that puts into first place so far.

Representing Hungary, Zsofia Kovacs. This is the gymnast who went head to

head all away with Ellie Downie yesterday, ended up with the silver

medal, but she is a complete gymnast. Good first handstand,

lovely stoop in and out with further pirouette as well, straight into the

Pak salto down to the lower bar, but she missed the connection. And that

is disappointing to see, she didn't fight to carry on. She would have

hoped to have gone down to the low bar immediately back up to the high

bar, but the move down to the low bar has to be so precise to be able

to get your feet in for the next bit. 30 seconds to re-mount on the

apparatus, otherwise there is a deduction. Here we go. So now feed

on, with the half turn, the flight to high bar with the half turn,

stoop in and out, front somersault, and negotiate that well. Just the

dismount now, here it comes, for all twisting double back in the term

position. That was a shame, you would normally hope that the gymnast

would have been able to work out and just take an extra upstart

handstand, but she obviously felt too far off balance to manage that.

May be day three of competition starting to show a little bit in the

all-around performers. As you can see, great height and flight up to

the top bar, some good turns in the handstands. Just the timing, down to

the low bar. Big wind-up, for a boost. Double back dismount. The 0.1

for coming from the apparatus will cost her dearly. Yes, these gymnasts

have had a huge schedule, this is their third day in a row, and, just

as for Ellie, her second final of the day. They will be happy to put

their feet up now for the rest of the day before they start again

tomorrow. Tomorrow, yes, I was going to say! Ellie is back on again

tomorrow on the floor. And the beam. In fact, she is doing everything!

The score comes in, 13.100 for Zsofia Kovacs of Hungary.

Representing Russia, on the uneven bars, Elena Eremina. Watch this

first skill, absolutely straight over the bar, immediate Pak salto,

lovely, lovely original work, the half turn just lost the legs a

little bit, a tiny gymnast to make that, but the stoop work is

beautiful. Lovely high front somersault, the gymnast have to use

a forward grip move, that was hers. Second pirouette was a little bit

late, lovely dismount, though, so clearly off the bar, the twist put

in now. We didn't have a great angle, but the pirouette looked

late. It certainly did, we might get a better view from the side. What a

start to the routine, fabulous. I recognise that man comedy you,

Christine?! Yes, already! There you go, huge into the straight Tkatchev,

down straight to the low bar, there we can see the double back for all

turn in the second somersault. Junior European champion in 2016,

all-around. Big, big talent from Russia. Beautiful, unusual bar work

as well, that skill is probably the skill most people have been talking

about in the championships, the way she does it, the absolutely straight

body. Same on the Aegerter somersault as welcome as she has

obviously got a real feel for the bar. -- the Jaeger somersault. She

scored 14 -- 14.300, she goes into first place. Bruma a little bit down

on her start value, but this is the girl to watch. Representing Germany,

Elisabeth Seitz on the uneven bars. Top qualifier and a really explosive

routine, lovely handstand, but look at the height and the flight,

beautiful in the straddle position, just the Aegerter a tiny bit bent

armed on the hop, but lovely work now. That pike is so difficult, but

I think she missed a connection have to take an extra upstart handstand

that will affect her start score. She floats off the bar, gives

herself so much time, for all pirouette into full twisting double

back, but a big step on landing, she has opened the door a little bit, a

couple of errors. I certainly agree, we have seen some great bar work,

but lots of opportunity for deductions there. That free swing, I

think she should have gone straight down with the Pak salto to the low

bar. There we go. High in the straddle, the somersault, that was

the good work, stoop, half turn, fall twist on the dismount. And that

big adjustment on landing and the late for all turn, I think, will be

very costly. A great gymnast for Germany over the years, great

success, represented at them at Olympics, and really is very

explosive on the bars. She has just got that sort of power, she works

the bars so well. But just a couple of areas there that the judges could

deduct, and we will see. She had a 6.1 difficulty in qualification, but

I think not linking the Tkatchev to the Pak will have... The score comes

in, 14.133 for Seitz of Germany. They

Representing Belgium on the uneven bars, Nina Derwael. In

qualification, she tied with Seitz for the top spot, lovely lines,

superhigh Tkatchev, this is the big combination, watch, catches in mixed

grip, straight down to the low bar, really well the go she ate it. And

then back up, beautifully flighted. -- really well negotiated. Lovely

with the half turn, that is one of the best we have seen. All

pirouette, nice and clean on top of the bar, full twisting double back,

that was a very clean routine. If she gets her 6.1 start, it will be

difficult to better. Well, what a routine from the young Belgian

gymnast there! So clean, graceful, and the way she floated between the

bars. There we can see, banging handstand, lovely line, feet locked

together there, and interesting, the Tkatchev with half turn to mixed

grip down to the low bar, connecting to the full turn before the

dismount. I think that is the best we have seen so far. Very clean

execution, Craig, I think that was. Needs 14.300 zero go joint with

Eremina. I think she could be close to her qualifications go, what do

you reckon? Scores look like they're tighter in

qualification. It is a different set of judges. If you have got a gymnast

in the final, you can't have a judge on the floor. It has to be judged by

a different group. It is 14.633 for Nina Derwael of Belgium. We have a

new leader. And an emphatic leader. That is a big score. Defending

European champion, representing Great Britain. Becky Downie. She

knows the routine of her life is needed to hold on to her title.

Starts with the forward element on the low bar. That was clean. Up to

the high bar. This is the big series. In the straddle position.

Full pirouette, lovely. And again. And she links it. She knows she has

got to. Keep her head. This is the big new combination coming up. Here

is the move. And she just didn't have quite enough flight to get her

hands over the bar. And I think she... Is hurt. The doctor and

physio on hand. It was going so well. Here we go. Up... Oh yes she

put her hand down as she fell and it looks like she has hurt her wrist or

her elbow. But she is up and walking and... That is a very great shame to

finish the uneven bar final in that manner. There we have confirmation.

First place, remitting Belgium, it is Nina Derwael.

Another couple of medal, but in your time, your sister fell, tell us what

you know happened? I'm not sure what she has done. She has been having a

couple of niggles in training so, I wasn't sure what it was when she

fell. I just felt gutted for her. She has worked so hard, as hard as

me and today was for her and me. Difficult to celebrate your medals,

but you did get a have I verse and -- silver and bronze. The vault I

was happy with, I was in first until the last girl and she deserved it.

Her straults were -- vaults were tidier than me. I have happy to let

her have that title. The bars was so unexpected. If Becky had gone

through she would have knocked me into fourth. A bitter sweet day.

What about last night. How much sleep did you get? I slept pretty

well, the fight before I was restless knowing I had qualified

first and I was nervous throughout the whole day. Last night I crashed

a bit. From all the highs and emotions. Well done today and we

will see you tomorrow and pass on our best wishes to Becky.

STUDIO: You can see her getting that bronze. She has the full set, the

gold, the silver and the bronze. And interesting to hear she slept worse

the night after qualification with the potential of what could be over

the reality. Yes definitely. For myself I struggled to sleep after a

competition, because even though my body was tired and needed rest,

there was so much going on in my head, I was thinking about the

routines and things that I could improve on. So much going on. It is

great she found something that suits her and got down to and helped with

her performances. She is proving to be so consistent and hearing that

fighting talk even with David, I was happy to let her have that title.

She just loves the competition. As soon as she goes out and see the

atmosphere and just, some gymnasts struggle with that pressure. She

seems to rise to it and loves being in the limelight. It is great to

have that attitude. It could have been her sister who knocked her out

of the medal spot. Becky was going for her third title. Trying to catch

you up, Beth. How much do you think that would have been on her mind and

how conscious do you think she would have been through that whole

routine. A lot of it is about muscle memory. Yes, she said it is a new

routine. She had one for Rio and the World Championships and a couple of

errors with it and made a decision that she didn't want that risk right

at the end. So it has been a quick turn and and routines take time to