AGI – Le The blue ‘Fairies’ crowned with the gold medal in the team competition a historic editionthe 35th ever, of European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championship. At the Rimini Fair, the champion Manila Esposito together with Alice D’Amato, Elisa Iorio and Angela Andreoli, they became European champions again two years later.
After the gold in Munich in August 2022, last year the Italians won the bronze medal. The fairies’, all agents of the Golden Flames, they won with 164,162 points ahead of Great Britain with 162,162 and France with 158,796. Supporting her teammates is Asia D’Amato who was injured during the continental event. She is the third gold of the Italian ‘Fairies’ after Volos 2006 – at the time the current national coach Monica Bergamelli was part of the team – and Munich 2022.
Never so high, never so successful: the Italian men’s and especially women’s artistic gymnastics closes a historic edition of the European Championships. In Rimini, where in recent weeks 605 gymnasts from almost 40 nations of the Old Continent battled on the various apparatus, the ‘ItalGym’ scored well 24 medals, 16 at the women’s level equally divided between seniors and juniors. In the last few days the great protagonist has been Manila Esposito, 17 years old bell of Torre Annunziata, which has won four European titles. A golden poker that began with the one in the all-around (the general competition), continued with the one on the beam, the floor exercise and concluded with the icing on the cake in the team competition.
The ‘Fairies’, as the blue artistic team is nicknamed (the ‘Butterflies’ are those of the rhythmic team), are back as European champions less than two years later (August 2022 in Munich) after the silver last year in Antalya. For Esposito, who joined the Fiamme Oro just two months ago, it is an event worth remembering: before her only Vanessa Ferrari in 2007 in Amsterdam and Asia D’Amato in 2022 in Munich had managed to win gold in the competition general.
“I will reserve an important space for these four medals, competing at home was a unique emotion, every time I look at these medals I will remember this fantastic European”, said Manila Esposito who, unlike the first three gold medals dedicated to family and grandparents, the team dedicated it to Asia D’Amato who injured her right knee during the European Championship. Two doubles, Esposito first and Alice D’Amato second in the all-around, and Alice D’Amato and Iorio in the unsymmetrical bars. On floor exercise, bronze for Andreoli in the race won by Esposito.
Great Italy also at junior level. A golden encore for the 14 year old Giulia Perotti from Vercelli in the unsymmetrical bars and floor exercise (she also won silver in the general competition and bronze on beam). Venetian Benedetta Gava was also European champion, first in the vault where Emma Puato won silver. Silver on floor exercise for Emma Fioravanti. In the team competition, Italy made up of Fioravanti, Gava, Perotti and Puato won silver with 153.527 points behind France with 155.763. Bronze to Belgium (148,662). For men, two bronzes for the overall sector with the team and that of Yumin Abbadini in the general competition. Among the juniors, the great protagonist was the 17-year-old from the Marche Tommaso Brugnami, gold in the floor exercise and rings, and silver in the all-around and vault. Silver for Italy in the team competition and bronze for Manuel Betterera on the bar.
