Alice D’Amato showed up at the European Championships 2023 of artistic gymnastics with a clear goal: win the gold medal on the uneven bars. The Genoese didn’t digest the bitter epilogue of the last edition, when she had to settle for the silver medal at the end of the duel with the German Ellie Seitz (she competed at home and this was decisive for the narrow victory). The blue, who in 2019 wore the bronze medal on the stables around her neck, is the only Italian to have climbed the continental podium in this specialty and now she would also like to make the Mameli anthem resound, already heard last summer in chance of triumph with the team. Our bearer, fresh from the seal in the World Cup in Cottbus, was exalted in the preliminary round and in fact signed the best qualifying score.
Alice D’Amato, who yesterday conquered a splendid bronze medal in the individual general competition, was rewarded with a remarkable one 14.500 (6.2 he D Score)but will have to deal with one simply fierce competition. In addition to the aforementioned Ellie Seitz, called to defend the title after the third place in the preliminary round (14.400, 8.3), the Dutch are scared Naomi Visser (second with 14.466, 6.1 the starting note) and above all the British Rebecca Downie (14.366, 6.3 for the highest difficulty of the lot). Hungarian will also have to be taken with a grain of salt Zsofia Kovacs (14.266, 6.2), while Giorgia Villa could be the outsider on duty (14,166 from 5.8 three days ago). To complete the batch of finalists there will be the other Magyar Zoja Szekely (14.066) and the Belgian Lisa Vaelen (14.000), who will come out tired from the vault final scheduled a few minutes earlier.
At the table, the great favorite of the vigil is undoubtedly the French Coline Devillard, which reached 13,866 in qualifying. The 22-year-old, world champion bronze in office, has set her sights on the second continental title in the specialty after the one she conquered six years ago and after the silver in 2019. The margin is interesting against the aforementioned Vaelen (13.616) and our Asia D’Amato (13,416). The now former European all-around champion was injured last year on the occasion of the second jump, still managing to bring home the silver medal. The Genoese has now exorcised that problem and is trying again: he will have to leverage above all on the initial double twist, in order to be able to defend himself on the second attempt. The rivals for the podium are above all the Danish Rasmussen (13.366) and the Romanian Maneca-Voinea (13.016), while the Greek Athanasia Mesiri and the Turkish Bilge Tarhan and Ceren Biner do not seem to have a chance.
Photo: Simone Ferraro/FGI
