Pavel Takes Team GB Silver at Home European Championships
Pavel Karnejenko was part of the Great Britain team, alongside Adam Tobin, Jake Jarman, Jamie Lewis and Donell Osbourne who took silver in the team event of junior men’s European Champions this evening at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
In taking the silver medal Pavel finished on an all-around score of 78.599 to take fifth place behind team-mate Jamie Lewis who took silver.
The team took to the floor early afternoon and finished on a final score of 240.128 only 0.833 behind the Russian’s who took gold. However, they had to wait nervously until late evening for the results to be confirmed.
Great Britain started on floor and, with great tumbling and a strong triple twist, Pavel scored 13.500 to get the rest of the GB boys off to a great start Adam Tobin and Jake Jarman took 13.466 before Jamie Lewis topped the brits with 13.733. It was on this apparatus that Pavel successfully qualified for Sunday’s finals alongside team-mate Jamie, where they placed sixth and first respectively.
The GB boys then took to the pommel horse where Pavel performed a clean and safe routine to score 12.500, team mates Jamie scoring 13.833, Adam 13.00 and Jake on 13.166.
On rings Pavel stepped up first to get the team underway where he secured another spotless routine for a safe 12.866, as he stuck the landing the Glaswegian crowd cheered for one of their own.
In order to put himself forward to qualify for the vault final Pavel had to perform two vaults, his first was well executed to score 14.200, and the second scoring 13.600 to give a combined score of 13.900. Although he placed an excellent eighth place the competition rules that only two gymnasts from each nation may qualify for each apparatus finals, Jake and Donell proceeded to Sunday’s final with impressive scores of 14.233 and 13.966.
On the penultimate apparatus, parallel bars, he produced a strong routine for a score of 13.000 with GB team-mates Jake scoring 13.466, Adam on 13.100 and Jamie on 12.500.
Horizontal bar was the last of the six pieces of apparatus for team GB. Pavel was first up for the team with a solid routine scoring 12.533, Donell then impressed with a great 12.800. Unfortunately, both Adam and Jamie had unfortunate falls to score 11.633 and 11.666 respectively.
Speaking to Scottish Gymnastics after competing he said; “It was nerve wracking but we went for it as a team, unfortunately on the last piece a couple of us came off the bar but we tried our best, that’s all we could have done.
He added: The crowd were amazing especially when I started up first on floor I wasn’t expecting the amount of support I had, it was loud, I was just blown away”
As the final scores came in, the Russians inched ahead of GB. The final result not what they were aiming for but happy with second in Europe none the less.
Good luck to Pavel and the rest of his GB team-mates in their apparatus finals on Sunday