Everyone is on their own on the apparatus, but off the podium they are a team. The German gymnasts show team spirit and are on course for the final at the European Championships. In the individual all-around, Kim Bui missed a surprise, but was still enthusiastic.
The team decision in fourth was easily achieved, another four places in the final were won and the new boss was completely convinced: When Asia d’Amato from Italy won the European Championship all-around, the German gymnasts fully met the expectations of head coach Gerben Wiersma and hopes for medal success at the European Championships in Munich awakened.
“Everyone fought for each other. I’m most proud of the team result and the progress we’ve made,” said the Dutchman, who replaced long-time head coach Ulla Koch at the beginning of the year. But Wiersma was also particularly happy with his “senior” Kim Bui, who surpassed herself in the last individual all-around of her career and took a hardly expected eighth place.
On the uneven bars, the usually so in control of the Stuttgarter literally screamed out her enthusiasm for an almost perfect day. “The relief is so great, so blatant,” said the 33-year-old, who announced her departure from the gymnastics podium last week. And it cannot be ruled out that the Swabian will finally say goodbye at the weekend with precious metal around her neck. Because Bui is not only an important factor in the team final on Saturday (2 p.m.), she also performed the fourth-best exercise of the preliminary round on uneven bars.
And even displaced her long-time club colleague Elisabeth Seitz by one position. The German record champion, who only competed in the Olympic Hall as a “part-time athlete”, is also a medal candidate on Sunday (3:15 p.m.) on the double bar.
On the balance beam, not only ex-world champion Pauline Schäfer-Betz, but also 18-year-old Emma Malewski (both from Chemnitz) substantiated a claim to the podium. Schäfer-Betz was even a little irritated by a butterfly that landed gently on the ten centimeter wide beam shortly before her exercise. “But it only affected me minimally, I can hide something like that well,” reported the 25-year-old afterwards. Sarah Voss from Cologne was thrown off the “Zitterbalken” and is therefore only a spectator on Sunday.
