UPDATE 35:

We posted most of the videos from the event.  Click on the menu on the upper right corner.  

UPDATE 34:

You will find video interviews and pictures added to the article.  Click on the menu on the upper right corner.

UPDATE 33:

We will put online additional pictures, video interviews of the champions, and the videos of the performances on Sunday and Monday. 

UPDATE 32:

We added some pictures from the award ceremony and the press conference that followed the competition.

UPDATE 31: MEN'S TRAMPOLINE REPORT

2005 World Champion Alexander Rusakov (RUS) won his first European Champion title in individual in the absence of the Olympic Champion and defending European Champion Yuri Nikitin (UKR), who withdrew due to a toe injury.  The men's final was superb, suspenseful, and intense.  Rusakov won the title with a score of 39.60 pts, beating his teammate German Khnychev (RUS) by 0.30 pts.  What made the difference in the final was Alexander Rusakov's superior difficulty (16.20 pt tariff).  He was the only athlete to perform a 16+ pt difficulty during the whole competition.  His traditional routine was executed with a good execution in the final.   He was also successful in mastering his traveling.  Rusakov, who used to struggle a little with the pressure in the finals of major competitions, demonstrated his new found maturity in such situations, winning a new major title less than a year after being crowned World Champion. 

1998 World Champion and 1998-2000 European Champion German Khnychev, who was competing first in the final, used his extensive experience of the finals of major events to perform a clean routine with only one triffis but with a lot of twisting (including a full in randy lay as third skill).  His routine was of great quality with minimal loss of height and only one landing out of the rectangle in the middle of the bed.  Khnychev, 32, obtained a total of 39.30 pts, 0.30 pts behind his teammate Rusakov.  1997 European Champion David Martin (FRA), who surprised everybody including himself with a brilliant performance in the preliminaries that gave him the lead, did well in the final and captured a very good bronze medal, less than one year after coming back from his ankle surgery.  Loudly supported by the crowd, Martin obtained 39.10 pts for a 15.60 pt tariff.  He performed the best execution of the final.  He was originally ranked 2nd, but a reclamation led him to the 3rd place.  The final skill of Martin's routine was supposed to be a miller lay, but he struggled a little just before.  He performed a final skill in the form of a half in rudy out lay instead of the miller.  The reclamation caused his difficulty to be lowered by 0.20 pts due to the change to the final skill.

Michael Kubicka (GER), who resumed his career after a break, obtained his best individual ever by taking the 4th place of the final thanks to a solid routine that scored 38.60 pts.  Ghent World Cup silver medalist Flavio Cannone (ITA) gave himself a scare in the final skill of his routine.  He seemed to get lost while twisting a miller, and converted it into a full in full out while spreading his legs.  As a result, his tariff was decreased, and Cannone lost some precious tenths in execution.  The mighty Italian finished 5th with 38.30 pts.  2003 World Champion Henrik Stehlik (GER) also struggled in a final where he was competing second to last.  Stehlik went through some traveling in his routine, and was forced to convert his final skill from a miller lay into a full in full out tuck.  As a result, he finished 6th with 37.90 pts.  Peter Jensen (DEN) delivered a solid routine that also scored 37.90 pts, but that encountered some significant traveling.  He finished 7th as his execution marks were lower than Stehlik's.  Sebastien Laifa (FRA - 37.70 pts with a modification to his 10th skill) took the 8th place of a final with no crash. 

UPDATE 30: WOMEN'S TRAMPOLINE REPORT

2005 World Champion Irina Karavaeva (RUS) keeps on building the most impressive career of any female athlete in trampoline history.  She won in Metz her 4th individual European Champion title after those of 1995, 2000, and 2004, which is a new stand alone record.  Trampoline great Andrea Holmes (GBR) had won three.  Overall, with her new individual and synchro titles, Irina Karavaeva has won 11 European Champion titles, a record too.  Karavaeva is also an Olympic Champion, a 4-time individual World Champion, and has won an incredible record of 21 World Cups in individual, including the last 5 bi-annual World Cup Finals.  Karavaeva deservedly won her new gold medal by performing her seasoned 14.70 pt with a lot of class and confidence.  The superior difficulty of Karavaeva's superb routine featuring two triffises as well as a miller lay at the end, made the difference once again.  She perfectly mastered her traveling and maintained very good height.  She obtained a total of 38.60 pts, which allowed her to successfully defend her title. 

Once again, the reigning Olympic Champion Anna Dogonadze (GER) stepped up in the final of a major event, capturing the silver medal in a final of an excellent level.  The 2001 World Champion and 1998 European Champion performed the best execution of the final, 17 years after her first final of a European Championship.  She stepped up her difficulty to 14.00 pts, and scored 38.00 pts.  Tatiana Petrenia (BLR), who was competing first in the final, set the tone of the final by delivering an impressive routine starting with a half out triffis pike and that mixed execution and difficulty (14.20 pt tariff).  Petrenia obtained 37.30 pts, 0.20 pts better than Yulia Domchevska (UKR - 4th with 37.10 pts), who continues her series of good performances this year by performing an excellent routine.  Some traveling pushed 2005 World silver medalist Natalia Chernova (RUS) downed to the 5th place with 36.60 pts. 

Marina Ducroux (FRA) celebrated her come back from maternity on the international stage by capturing a good 6th place.  Jaime Moore (GBR) was 7th.  Elena Movchan (UKR), who had qualified to the final in 2nd place, struggled and landed her final full in full out lay on the mat.  She finished 8th. 

UPDATE 29: MEN'S TUMBLING REPORT

2005 World Games winner and World Championship bronze medalist Jozef Wadecki (POL) lost in his last routine a European Champion title that was promised to him after outdistancing his rivals in the first routine of the final.  Wadecki had obtained 38.40 pts for a brilliant first pass with a 12.00 pt tariff.  He was leading over Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) with a 1.60 pts margin.  In his second routine the 18-year-old Wadecki lacked rotation in the full in full out + 1/2 twist that concluded the routine.  He could not secure a stable landing and rolled on his back, thus losing any hope to be crowned European Champion or win a medal.  Tagir Murtazaev, who was competing right after Wadecki after leading the preliminaries, did not have to be begged to jump on the opportunity to win his first major international title.  He performed a great second routine with class, execution, speed and difficulty (11.20 pt tariff), that secured the gold medal.  His 37.20 pt second series allowed him to obtain a total score of 74.00 pts.

Murtazaev won with an almost 2 pt margin over his teammate Alexander Goncharov (RUS), who was the lucky loser of the competition.  Goncharov was not supposed to compete in the final after having finished 9th of the preliminaries.  Luckily for him and unfortunately for the 2004 World Cup Final winner Andrei Kabishev (BLR), the latter had to withdraw due to injury from the final to which he had qualified in 2nd place.  Goncharov performed two solid routines with the second highest difficulty total of the final behind Murtazaev's.  Goncharov won the silver medal for 0.10 pts as Michael Barnes (GBR) finished 3rd with 72.00 pts.  Barnes delivered consistent routines with nice execution and good speed.  His teammate Charlie Burrows (GBR) was 4th with 71.00 pts. Sergei Artemenko (BLR) was 5th with the same score as Burrows.  2000 and 2002 World Cup Final winner Nicolas Fournials (FRA) finished 6th with two good routines and the crowd loudly cheering for him.  Wadecki was 7th after his failed landing.  Igor Levkovich (UKR) was 8th after an awkward crash in a full back back triffis at the end of his first routine.   According to 1988-1990 tumbling World Champion Pascal Eouzan (FRA), Levkovich's crash and yesterday's spectacular crash could be explained by the fact that the tumbling tracks are very mushy now.  Thus, the tumblers do not necessarily realize that they are not taking off from the track when they take off for their final skill from the interesection between the landing mat and the track.  Therefore, they start the full rotation of the final skill without necessarily having the room to complete it. 

UPDATE 28: WOMEN'S TUMBLING REPORT

Samantha Palmer (GBR) won her first European Champion title by outclassing 2005 World Champion Anna Korobeynikova (RUS), an outcome that not many people would have predicted 6 months ago.  The young British Champion had already beaten Korobeynikova at the Krasnodar World Cup at the beginning of the month, but Korobeynikova was still the favorite before the competition.  The two athletes offered a suspenseful face off to the public in the final of the Metz European Championships.  Palmer, who was competing last in the final after winning the preliminaries, made the difference with a very impressive second routine that scored 35.80 pts for a 9.50 pt tariff.  She gave her best with great focus  and blazing speed, and it paid off.  She obtained a total of 70.00 pts, beating Korobeynikova, who had the lead after the first routine of the final.  Surprisingly, Korobeynikova, who was competing just before Palmer, did not perform the highest difficulty she is capable of (she performed a 9.50 pt tariff yesterday).  Her 34.60 pt second routine (8.70 pt tariff) forced her to settle for the silver medal with 69.20 pts, 0.80 pts off Palmer's score. 

Youngster Alina Yarullova (RUS), who just turned 17, obtained a very good bronze medal with 65.50 pts, and confirmed that she will have to be counted on in the years to come.  She performed two solid routines.  Marion Limbach (FRA) took a nice 4th place with 64.20 pts, cheered by her home crowd.  Ana Conde (POR) finished 5th (63.40 pts).  Anna Terenia (BLR) and Laura Houson (GBR), who were tied in 3rd place after the first routine of the final, struggled in the second routine and finished at the last two places of the final.  French tumbler Melanie Avisse had to withdraw from the final due to injury. 

UPDATE 27: MEN'S DMT REPORT

Alexei Ilichev (RUS) won his first major title since being crowned 2003 World Champion in double mini-trampoline.  He became the 2006 European Champion with 73.20 pts thanks to a great first pass that scored 37.40 pts (9.50 pt tariff), and helped him build a significant lead over his rivals.  The athlete from Saint Petersburg did not have to take too much risk in the second pass and settled for a 8.80 pt tariff (instead of a potential 10.00 pt tariff).  Ilichev's strategy paid off as he obtained 35.80 pts for his second pass, which was sufficient to ensure the gold medal.

His teammate Kirill Ivanov (RUS) bounced back from yesterday's team final, where his misfortune cost Russia the gold medal, by winning the silver medal in the individual final.  Ivanov obtained 72.20 pts and edged Pedro Sousa (POR), who took the bronze medal with 72.00 pts thanks to the best second pass of the final.  Fabio Castanho (POR) was 4th with 70.50 pts in a final of a very good level.  Hoy Pui Chau Tsang (ESP - 5th with 70.10 pts), Michael Scott-Beaulieu (GBR - 6th with 69.90 pts), Martin Innala (SWE - 7th with 68.20 pts), and Aniol Perez (ESP - 8th with 66.60 pts) also contributed to the quality of a final with no crash.

UPDATE 26: WOMEN'S DMT REPORT

The Russians Svetlana Balandina and Viktoria Voronina dominated the final, and even outperformed the 2005 World Champion Silvia Saiote (POR), who had to settle for the bronze medal.  The final was of great quality and saw few crashes.  Svetlana Balandina delivered the best two passes of the final thanks to the best execution and difficulty for each of them.  She convincingly won with a total of 69.30 pts.  Her young teammate Viktoria Voronina (RUS) took a good silver medal with 67.70 pts.  World Champion Silvia Saiote took the bronze medal with 64.70 pts, 3.00 pts behind Voronina.  She lacked the extra difficulty that the Russians were able to display.

Nicola Pugh (GBR) took a good 4th place with 64.30 pts.  She was followed by her teammate Asha Bayliss, and Denica Kalcheva (BUL).  2005 World bronze medalist Ana Simoes (POR) finished 7th after failing both her passes.  Christina Jansen (GER), who was in 3rd place after the first pass, crashed in the 2nd pass, and finished last of the final. 

UPDATE 25:

The official results of the trampoline individual finals are in, and we posted them at the bottom of the article. 

German Khnychev (RUS) appears to be 2nd, and David Martin (RUS) 3rd.

UPDATE 24: MEN'S SYNCHRONIZED TRAMPOLINE REPORT

2002 World Cup Final winners Mickael Jala and Sebastien Laifa (FRA) delivered a sterling performance in the men's synchro final that brought their home crowd to its feet, cheering loudly for the first gold medal of the French team at these 20th European Championships.  The French pair outperformed all their rivals in synchronization and execution.  Their performance almost appeared like a reflection in a mirror, and the judges gave them very high grades in synchronization.  Jala and Laifa, who were the last ones to compete in the final after having taken the lead of the preliminaries, obtained a total of 50.60 pts (15.20 pt tariff). 

The Portuguese pair Diogo Ganchinho-Nuno Merino (POR) trailed by 1 pt behind the Frenchmen, and took the silver medal with 49.60 pts.  Their performance was also very impressive, and their silver medal was well deserved.  2005 World Games winner Henrik Stehlik was associated with Dennis Luxon (GER) to win a bronze medal with 49.10 pts.  They also displayed a very nice synchronization, but their tariff was a little lower than their rivals.  In addition, Luxon touched the pads after his final vertical jump, losing 0.60 pts.

2004 European Youth Champions twin brothers Orlando and Fernando Gotschin (NED) finished 4th with 47.90 pts.  They were followed by two of the favorites of the final: 2005 World and 2004 European silver medalists Michel Boillet-Ludovic Martin (SWI - 5th with 47.70 pts) and 2005 World Champions Nikolai Kazak-Vladimir Kakorko (BLR - 6th with 46.10 pts), who did not have a final as successful as hoped.  Alexander Leven and German Khnychev (RUS) tried to establish a new world record for the highest difficulty performed in synchro by performing a 15.90 pt routine.  Unfortunately, Khnychev landed his final miller lay on his feet and hands, which caused the skill not to be taken into account.  The Russian pair finished 7th. 

UPDATE 23:

Very successful day for Russia with 6 gold medals out of 8 possible.  The Russian athletes nicely bounced back from yesterday's disappointment where they won only 1 gold in the 6 team events.

UDPATE 22: WOMEN'S SYNCHRONIZED TRAMPOLINE REPORT

2005 synchro World Champions Irina Karavaeva and Natalia Chernova (RUS) won their second European Champions title in synchronized trampoline, 11 years after having won their first title already in France.  Since their first title, the pair split, was reformed, split again, and was reformed again.  Since their last reformation, the Russians won the World Championships and the European Championships.  Their class and consistency allowed them to win a new gold medal at these European Championships.  Specifically, the quality of their individual execution is what made the difference in the final.  Karavaeva and Chernova, who also won the individual gold and silver medals at the past World Championships, obtained 48.00 pts (13.00 pt tariff), 1.00 pt ahead of the silver medalists. 

3-time synchro World Champion Elena Movchan was paired with Yulia Domchevska (UKR) to win a nice silver medal with 47.00 pts.  The Ukrainian pair performed the best synchronization of the whole final.  2005 World Games winners Anna Dogonadze and Jessica Simon (GER) took the bronze medal with 46.60 pts, after increasing their difficulty to 13.00 pts in the final.  They were followed by Ekaterina Mironova-Tatiana Petrenia (BLR - 4th with 45.70 pts) and Jaime Moore-Claire Wright (GBR - 5th with 45.60 pts). 

UPDATE 21:

The official results for tumbling, DMT and synchro are in.  We are posting them at the bottom of this article.

UPDATE 20:

Alexander Rusakov: 2006 European Champion!

Men's trampoline final (final standing): 1. Alexander Rusakov (RUS) 39.60, 2. David Martin (FRA) 39.30, 3. German Khnychev (RUS) 39.30, 4 Michael Kubicka (GER) 38.60, 5. Henrik Stehlik (GER) 38.10, 6. Flavio Cannone (ITA) 38.30, 7. Peter Jensen (DEN) 37.90, 8. Sebastien Laifa (FRA) 37.70.

Rusakov takes the lead.  Martin 2nd and Khnychev 3rd. Some traveling for Stehlik and only a full in full out tuck at the end instead of a miller lay.  A lot of traveling for Flavio Cannone and a full in full out lay at the end instead of the miller.

UPDATE 19:

Starting order for the upcoming men's trampoline final: Khnychev, Jensen, Laifa, Kubicka, Cannone, Rusakov, Stehlik, Martin.

UPDATE 18:

4th European Champion title for Irina Karavaeva (RUS)! (new stand alone record).  AcrobaticSports.com just did an interview of Karavaeva with the help of Marina Ducroux (FRA).

Women's trampoline result (final standing): 1. Irina Karavaeva (RUS) 38.60, 2. Anna Dogonadze (GER) 38.00, 3. Tatiana Petrenia (BLR) 37.30, 4. Yulia Domchevska (UKR) 37.10, 5. Natalia Chernova (RUS) 36.60, 6. Marina Ducroux (FRA) 35.70, 7. Jaime Moore (GBR) 34.90, 8. Elena Movchan (UKR) 32.40. 

UPDATE 17:

TRA Women's final: Dogonadze (GER - 38.00) ahead of Petrenia (BLR - 37.30) and Domchevska (UKR - 37.10) with only Karavaeva left to jump.  Movchan could not complete her routine.

UPDATE 16:

Jozef Wadecki (POL), who had a significant lead after the 1st routine, struggles in the 2nd routine and Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) wins in tumbling! Goncharov (RUS) 2nd and Barnes (GBR)3rd.  The 2nd routine was a major blow for Wadecki.  He tried to finish his 2nd routine with a full in full out lay + 1/2 twist.  Unfortunately, he lacked rotation and had to roll on his back on the landing. 

It isi the first major gold medal for Murtazaev.  Nice silver medal for Alexander Goncharov, who was not a finalist originally but stepped into Andrei Kabishev's (BLR) shoes after the latter withdrew. Igor Levkovich (UKR) did not do a 2nd routine after a heavy crash in the 1st routine. 

Men's Tumbling final (final standing): 1. Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) 74.00, 2. Alexander Goncharov (RUS) 72.10, 3. Michael Barnes (GBR) 72.00, 4. Charlie Burrows (GBR) 71.00, 5. Sergei Artemenko (BLR) 71.00, 6. Nicolas Fournials (FRA) 70.60, 7. Jozef Wadecki (POL) 69.00, 8. Igor Levkovich (UKR) 27.50.

UPDATE 15:

Svetlana Balandina (RUS): 2006 European Champion in DMT.

Women's DMT final (final standing): 1. Svetlana Balandina (RUS) 69.30, 2. Viktoria Voronina (RUS) 67.70, 3. Silvia Saiote (POR) 64.70, 4. Nicola Pugh (GBR) 64.30, 5. Asha Bayliss (GBR) 63.80, 6. Denica Kalcheva (BUL) 63.50, 7. Ana Simoes (POR), 44.80, 8. Christina Jansen (GER) 32.60.

UPDATE 14:

Men's tumbling final (standing after the 1st routine): 1. Wadecki (POL) 38.40, 2. Murtazaev (RUS) 36.8, 3. Barnes (GBR) 36.0, 4. Burrows (GBR), 5. Goncharov (RUS), 6. Fournials (FRA), 7. Artemenko (BLR), 8. Levkovich (UKR).

Huge lead for Jozef Wadecki (POL).

Andrei Kabishev (BLR) had to withdraw after suffering from an injury at yesterday's team final. 

Women's DMT final (standing after the 1st pass): 1. Balandina (RUS) 35.10, 2. Voronina (RUS) 34.10, 3. Saiote (POR) 32.70, 4. Jansen (GER) 32.60, 5. Pugh (GBR), 6. Bayliss (GBR), 7. Kalcheva (BUL), 8. Simoes (POR - crash).

UPDATE 13:

Men's tumbling final: huge crash by Igor Levkovich (UKR): an attempt to do a full back back at the end that awkwardly landed on the upper back.

UPDATE 12:

Men's DMT final result: 1. Alexei Ilichev (RUS) 73.20, 2. Kirill Ivanov (RUS) 72.20, 3. Pedro Sousa (POR) 72.00, 4. Fabio Castanho (POR), 5. Hoy Pui Chau Tsang (ESP) 70.10, 6. Michael Scott-Beaulieu (GBR), 7. Martin Innala (SWE) 68.20, and 8. Aniol Perez (ESP) 66.60.

Great victory for the 2003 World Champion Alexei Ilichev (RUS).

UPDATE 11:

Samantha Palmer (GBR) 2006 European Champion!

Women's tumbling final standing: 1. Samantha Palmer (GBR) 70.00, 2. Anna Korobeynikova (RUS) 69.20, 3. Alina Yarullova (RUS) 65.50, 4. Marion Limbach (FRA) 64.20, 5. Ana Conde (POR) 63.40, 6. Katerina Baeva (UKR) 60.10, 7. Anna Terenia (BLR) 59.60, 8. Laura Houson (GBR) 50.90.

UPDATE 10:

Result of first pass in the Men's DMT final: 1. Alexei Ilichev (RUS) 37.40, 2. Kirill Ivanov (RUS) 35.90, 3. Fabio Castanho (POR) 35.60.

In the women's tumbling, standing after the 1st routine: 1. Anna Korobeynikova (RUS), 2. Sam Palmer (GBR), 3. Anna Terenia (BLR).

Anna Terenia (BLR) struggled in the 2nd routine.

UPDATE 9:

Detailed results of the synchro finals:

Men's: 1. Mickael Jala-Sebastien Laifa (FRA) 50.60, 2. Diogo Ganchinho-Nuno Merino (POR) 49.60, 3. Henrik Stehlik-Dennis Luxon (GER) 49.10, 4. Orlando Gotschin-Fernando Gotschin (NED) 47.90, 5. Michel Boillet-Ludovic Martin (SWI) 47.70, 6. Nikolai Kazak-Vladimir Kakorko (BLR) 46.10, 7. German Khnychev-Alexander Leven (RUS) 44.30, 8. Jacob Hansen-Peter Jensen (DEN) 10.10. 

The crowd at the "Arenes" in Metz is loudly cheering after the victory of the French pair.

Women's: 1. Irina Karavaeva-Natalia Chernova (RUS) 48.00, 2. Elena Movchan-Yulia Domchevska (UKR) 47.00, 3. Anna Dogonadze-Jessica Simon (GER) 46.60, 4. Tatiana Petrenia-Ekaterina Mironova (BLR) 45.70, 5. Claire Wright-Jaime Moore (GBR) 45.60, 6. Ana Rente-Nicole Pacheco (POR) 43.80, 7. Andrea Lenders-Mirjam Steinebach (NED) 43.60, 8. Laetitia Hauwelle-Julie Perreten (FRA) 43.10.

The tumbling finals started.

UPDATE 8:

Results of the men's synchro competition: 1. Mickael Jala-Sebastien Laifa (FRA), 2. Diogo Ganchinho-Nuno Merino (POR), 3. Henrik Stehlik-Dennis Luxon (GER).

Mickael Jala and Sebastien Laifa (FRA) benefited from a strong support from the home crowd and went on to win their first European Champion title in synchro. 

UPDATE 7:

Very nice routine of the Portuguese pair in the men's synchro pair.

UPDATE 6:

The Acrobatic Sports association signed an agreement today with the UEG represented by its Vice President and the French Gymnastics Federation represented by its President giving the right to Acrobatic Sports to post the videos of the 20th European Championships and the 18th European Youth Championships on its website. 

This agreement will facilitate the access of the public to the sport in general and this major event in particular.  It should help promote the sport and increase its exposure.  We would like to thank all the parties involved.

UPDATE 5:

Results of the women's synchronized trampoline final: 1. Irina Karavaeva-Natalia Chernova (RUS), 2. Elena Movchan-Yulia Domchevska (UKR), 3. Anna Dogonadze-Jessica Simon (GER).

Karavaeva-Chernova won the European Championship title in synchro again in France, 11 years after winning it together in France too at the 1995 European Championships in Antibes. 

UPDATE 4:

Marine Betis (FRA), who was one of the two winners of the Euro 2006 game organized by AcrobaticSports.com with the support of the Organizing Committee of the European Championships and the association of the French gymnastics internationals (AIFG), met today with Olympic Champion Anna Dogonadze (GER).  Dogonadze handed the gifts provided by the AIFG to Betis.  Betis also received her pass for the finals of the European Championships.  She will also attend the banquet organized for the athletes at the end of the competition.

The game was an initiative of AcrobaticSport.com to promote the European Championships to the public.  Candidates had to provide at least 4 correct answers to 7 questions on the history of the European Championships in order to win lodging and passes to the European Championships, as well various gifts.  

The other winner of the game was Swiss international Michel Boillet's father.

Link to a picture of the meeting with Anna Dogonadze 

UPDATE 3:

French tumbler Melanie Avisse is suffering from the Achilles' tendons, which is, we believe, the primary reason why she had retired from competitive tumbling a few years back, before resuming her career at the beginning of the season.  Avisse, who is the 1999 World bronze medalist and the 1996 World Champion in the team event, had to withdraw from the final.  She also had won 3 European Champion titles (1997, 1998, and 2000) in the team competition.  She won a bronze medal in the team event yesterday. 

UPDATE 2:

Video report (in French) on yesterday's action at the 2006 European Championships.

In an interview with AcrobaticSports, David Martin (FRA) mentioned that it was the first time of his career that he qualified to the final of a major international event in first place.  He also confirmed that his primary objective at these European Championships was a medal in the team event.  It was a surprise to him that his routine went so well. 

UPDATE 1:

Today is the final day of the 20th European Championships that have been an exceptional success so far with the visit from trampoline inventor George Nissen (USA), superb performances by the athletes, and a very efficient organization.  The whole team of the Organizing Committee should be thanked for their hard work and the quality of the organization that played a great role in the success of this competition.

The program of the day includes the individual finals in trampoline, tumbling and double mini-trampoline, as well as the synchronized trampoline final.  So far, David Martin (FRA) and Irina Karavaeva (RUS) hold the lead in trampoline, Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) and Samantha Palmer (GBR) in tumbling, and Kirill Ivanov (RUS) and Svetlana Balandina (RUS) in DMT.  The pairs Mickael Jala-Sebastien Laifa (FRA) and Irina Karavaeva-Natalia Chernova (RUS) will also be the last ones to compete in the synchro final. 

This article will be periodically updated based on the information provided by our on-site reporters Damien Dorna and Michel Bontemps, with the help of former French international Nathalie Treil, and FIG Judge Cyril Cloud.

Thanks to Alice Mooij for her heads up.