MOSCOW, April 19 (R-Sport) - Olympic champion gymnast Aliya Mustafina won women's all-round gold for Russia at the European championships in Moscow on Friday.
The 18-year-old notched up her second career European victory and followed the example of fellow Russian David Belyavskiy, who opened the championships with victory in the men’s all-round earlier in the day.
"I'm pleased, just pleased," Mustafina said, brushing off concerns her Olympic success meant the continental competition was below her.
"I'm satisfied because winning the European championships is not so easy. You can't not be focused at competitions."
Mustafina, who triumphed on the uneven bars at London 2012, notched up a total score of 59.032, beating 16-year-old Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache by 0.60 points.
One of Mustafina’s teammates in the Olympic silver-winning Russia team, Anastasia Grishina, claimed bronze, scoring 0.50 points fewer than Iordache.
The championships run through Sunday.
(Updates with quotes)
