Over the years, Ukraine’s two-time World Championships silver medalist Oleg Verniaiev has been one of the most enthusiastic participants in the FIG World Cup and World Challenge Cup series and he has been rewarded with enough medals to merit an expansion of his already-extensive trophy case.
At the fifth of six World Challenge Cup events in Szombathely (HUN), he competed for the first time in the series in 2018 and took home four medals in the six men’s events, winning the Pommel Horse event and collecting a silver in Floor Exercise and bronzes in the Parallel Bars and Vault.
His four podiums put him just one up on Japan’s Kenta Chiba, who won the High Bar, was second on the Parallel Bars and third on Rings.
Among the women, Hungary’s Zsofia Kovacs was the most popular winner, earning gold on Beam. Spain’s Cintia Rodriguez was a double medal-winner, with a silver on Beam and on Floor and Slovakia’s Barbora Mokosova took home a silver on the Uneven Bars and bronze on Floor.
Prize money of € 800-600-400-300-250-200-150-100 was awarded to the top eight finishers in each apparatus final. The World Challenge Cup series will conclude in Paris (FRA) next week. Summaries:
FIG World Challenge Cup
Szombathely (HUN) ~ 21-23 September 2018
(Full results here)
Men
Floor: 1. Artem Dolgopat (ISR), 14.700; 2. Oleg Verniaiev (UKR), 14.050; 3. Joal Plata (ESP), 13.900.
Pommel Horse: 1. Verniaiev (UKR), 14.650; 2. Saso Bertoncelj (SLO), 14.500; 3. Shogo Nonomura (JPN), 13.900.
Rings: 1. Nonomura (JPN), 14.400; 2. Ali Zahran (EGY),14.400; 3. Kenta Chiba (JPN), 14.150.
Vault: 1. Keisuke Asato (JPN), 14.900; 2. Tung Le Thanh (VIE), 14.750; 3. Verniaiev (UKR), 14.625.
Parallel Bars: 1. Petro Pakhniuk (UKR), 14.950; 2. Chiba (JPN), 14.900; 3. Verniaiev (UKR), 14.850.
High Bar: 1. Chiba (JPN), 14.150; 2. David Vecsernyes (HUN), 14.100; 3. Georgiu Mariosz (CYP), 14.100.
Women
Vault: Ofir Netzer (ISR), 13.600; 2. Laurie Denommee (CAN), 13.425; 3. Dominika Ponizilova (CZE), 13.375.
Uneven Bars: 1. Jonna Adlerteg (SWE), 13.900; 2. Barbora Mokosova (SVK), 13.100; 3. Paula Raya (ESP), 13.000.
Balance Beam: 1. Zsofia Kovacs (HUN), 12.750; 2. Cintia Rodríguez (ESP), 12.500; 3. Elisa Hammerle (AUT), 12.450.
Floor: 1. Dorina Boczogo (HUN), 13.100; 2. Rodriguez (ESP), 12.800; 3. Barbara Mokosova (SVK), 12.550.
