There he stood, light as a bird. His opponents were richer in experience, heavier in successes and also in muscles. Milan Hosseini had something completely different to offer: anticipation. What was supposed to happen in his first big performance, which came as a complete surprise to the German gymnastics fans. “I was really looking forward to this final,” said Hosseini later.
And if you do something out of sheer pleasure and pleasure, then even a newcomer at a major event can get a bronze medal. On Saturday, in the second individual final of the European Gymnastics Championships in Antalya, the 21-year-old from Flein in Baden-Württemberg and who trains in Berlin left all but two opponents behind – namely the British Luke Whitehouse and Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat from Israel. He had just been standing in his hall when suddenly he had an invitation to take part in an award ceremony, so real, with his own place on the podium, anthem music and then the interview round in the mixed zone in front of these media people who handed you their smartphones hold under face in capture mode.
Hosseini started right away – with a demanding acrobatic run
Nobody expected it, probably not Hosseini either. It was more to be expected that an athlete like Elisabeth Seitz, 29 years old and grown up between the bars of the uneven bars, won bronze in Antalya and has been among the world class for years. Hosseini, however, is one of those young gymnasts whose muscles are not yet so broad that they prevent the natural elegance that this sport demands. So he stood in his starting corner of the floormat, wide-eyed and focused, raised his arm in salute to the judges, took a run-up, spun in the air – and then really got going on his second lane.
With just a few steps, gymnasts have to develop enormous kinetic energy in order to create the height for their aerial figures. Hosseini performed an acrobatics series of four consecutive jumps, including a two-twist flight and straight somersaults. In the end he was a bit shaky because his right big toe was dangerously close to the edge of the mat, which he wasn’t allowed to cross. But this balancing act was also successful, the self-confidence was refreshed.
Even before the qualification, national coach Valeri Belenki had praised the slim gymnast. And Hosseini is one of those who are not only expected to have a respectable general career, but also to make a decisive contribution in the near future when the qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Paris is due at the World Championships in Antwerp in autumn. With his relaxed appearance, the inner tension of Belenki, sports director Thomas Gutekunst and probably everyone responsible for the German Gymnastics Federation has eased a little.
However, the overall impression, especially that of the gymnasts, also gave cause for concern. With around seven points they were behind in the team competition, despite the success of the last European Championships in Munich. They were ninth in the end, so a performance like that shouldn’t be enough for the Olympics. However, a different German performance can be expected at the World Cup in autumn. Currently injured people like Pauline Schäfer-Betz, the balance beam world champion of 2017, and European beam champion Emma Malewski, who fell in Antalya, will probably strengthen the team in the autumn, which is why Gutekunst remains confident “that we will also have a women’s area in Antwerp show a different face in the team”.
“I’ve still got it”: Seitz doesn’t have to prove anything anymore – and yet bronze is an important confirmation
Such association-tactical worries leave young and aspiring athletes like Hosseini and also the all-around eighth Pascal Brendel from Wetzlar rather cold. Your job is to look at your own development. The experienced Seitz has done it all these years. A medal, no matter what color, represents the self-affirmation that you can carry through this year. Again and again, even the long-established doubt themselves and need a sense of achievement. Seitz admits: “Even if I don’t have to, somehow I’ve reaffirmed that I’m still good at parallel bars.”
Control also upside down: Elisabeth Seitz wins her fifth European Championship medal in Antalya.
(Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa)
Hosseini will have such age doubts at some point, his record from Antalya is outstanding with a medal of any kind. This was also successful because he did not let up after the first two acrobatics rows. Then the tension seemed to ease from landing to landing. This floor program is already packed, which is why – as it is – the education of the gymnast must continue as soon as he has left the podium.
Head coach Belenki had a few comments. He said on the SWR broadcaster: “Milan’s practice wasn’t perfect.” After all, he often didn’t close his legs in a school-like manner, and the double-double at the beginning, Belenki warned, he wanted to stand clean as a whistle – but the force of the energy had pushed him forward, “which cost him three or four tenths “. Finally, from the turns with both hands on the ground, the “Russian turning swings”, he left out one.
That’s how it is with the gymnastics students: They are not perfect, even if they already compete in an EM. Belenki knows that, which is why he closed the criticism of his medal winner with the words: “I’m really happy for him.”
