MOSCOW, April 21 (R-Sport) - Russia's Olympic gymnastics champion Denis Ablyazin vaulted to gold in the European championships on Sunday, beating reigning champion Flavius Koczi by a wide margin.
Ablyazin, 20, performed a double pike with a round-off to score 15.408 in the first vault of the competition.
Romania's Koczi, who won gold in Montpellier last year, had to settle for silver after a Kasamatsu double twist and hand spring earned him 14.887 points.
Artur Davtyan of Armenia collected the bronze with a hand spring plus two-and-a-half twists for 14.866, his best international result to date.
The championships end later Sunday at Moscow's Olympic Sports Complex with the men's uneven bars and high bar, with the women's beam and floor still to come.
Earlier in the competition, France's Samir Ait Said tied for gold with Ukraine's Ihor Radivilov in the men's rings, Russia’s all-around champions Aliya Mustafina twirled to first place on the uneven bars, and Britain’s Max Whitlock and Israel’s Alexander Shatilov tied for gold on the floor.
Britain’s Dan Keatings triumphed in the men’s pommel horse, and Swiss gymnast Giulia Steingruber took the gold medal in the women’s vault.
