The Ukrainian gymnast saved his best performance for the decisive moment, turning a strong qualification into a landmark European breakthrough.
Ukrainian gymnast Nazar Chepurnyi became the 2026 European artistic gymnastics champion in the vault. It is the athlete’s first gold medal at the continental championships in his career.
Nazar Chepurnyi wins the vault final
Of the six Ukrainian representatives, only Nazar Chepurnyi advanced to the individual apparatus finals. In the vault qualification, he posted the second-best result, scoring 14.466 points across two attempts.
Only Armenia’s Artur Davtyan received a higher score in the qualification round. In the final, Chepurnyi was the last of the eight competitors to take to the floor.
For his two vaults, the Ukrainian gymnast earned an average score of 14.566 points. This result secured Nazar Chepurnyi’s victory and the 2026 European championship title.
A third consecutive European Championship medal for the Ukrainian
The vault gold was Nazar Chepurnyi’s third consecutive medal at the European Championships in his specialist event.
At Euro 2026, the Ukrainian gymnast will also compete in the parallel bars final. Among his opponents will be Illia Kovtun, who now represents Croatia.