New names marked the World Challenge Cup in Varna: nine gold medals for first-time winners
The World Challenge Cup in artistic gymnastics in Varna delivered one of the more striking starts to the international series in 2026. At the competition held from 7 to 10 May in the Bulgarian Black Sea city, according to data from the International Gymnastics Federation and the published competition results, most of the winners won a gold medal at this level of the FIG Challenge Cup for the first time. The original report emphasized that nine out of ten apparatus winners were among the new golden names, while the only experienced winner was Armenian national team member Artur Avetisyan on rings. That fact clearly describes the character of the competition: Varna was not just another stop on the calendar, but also a stage on which gymnasts who are still building their international status made their mark.
Varna as the starting point of the Challenge Cup season
According to the calendar and announcements of World Gymnastics, the competition in Varna was one of the stops of the FIG World Challenge Cup series in artistic gymnastics. Unlike some World Cup competitions that this season had a more direct role in the broader ranking and qualification contexts, the Challenge Cup in Varna offered important points, international confirmation and an opportunity to test form before the continuation of the season. The location itself has a long tradition in organizing gymnastics competitions, and the Bulgarian audience was again able this year to follow a broad international field of competitors from Europe, Asia, North America and other parts of the world. According to the preview by the specialized portal The Gymternet, qualifications were scheduled for 7 and 8 May, while the finals were held over the weekend, 9 and 10 May. Such a competition schedule gave the finalists very little room for adjustment, which is especially evident in gymnastics because one mistake can decide the entire ranking.
Men's finals: Avetisyan confirmed his status, the hosts welcomed major results
In the men's competition, the most experienced golden name was Artur Avetisyan. The Armenian gymnast won on rings with a score of 14.233, according to the results published by The Gymternet. In the final he left behind Artur Sahakyan, who competes for Germany and won silver with 13.566, and Akhrorkhon Temirkhonov of Uzbekistan, bronze medallist with 13.466. Avetisyan had already led in qualifications, where he received 14.300, so his victory did not come as a surprise. That is precisely why his triumph stands apart from the broader picture of the competition: while many winners were only recording their first major golden results in the Challenge Cup, Avetisyan competed in Varna as a proven specialist on one of the technically most demanding apparatuses.
On floor, Victor Tournicourt of Belgium won with a score of 13.466. Austrian Martin Miggitsch took silver with 13.300, while bronze went to Ravshan Kamiljanov of Uzbekistan with 13.166. According to the final results, Kamiljanov and Hungarian Botond Molnar had the same total of 13.166, but the Uzbek finished on the podium thanks to tie-break rules. This apparatus showed how narrow the margins in Varna were: the winner had only three tenths of a point ahead of the runner-up, and the fight for bronze was decided by details of execution and deductions. Such an outcome fitted well into the general impression of the competition, in which less expected names asserted themselves through stability rather than through particularly large differences in the difficulty of routines.
On pommel horse, Bulgarian David Ivanov won the gold medal, giving the home team one of its most important moments of the competition. Ivanov achieved 14.633 in the final, with Ravshan Kamiljanov finishing behind him with 14.166 and Ukrainian Ihor Dyshuk with 13.900. It is especially interesting that British great Max Whitlock also competed in the same final, finishing eighth with 11.800. According to The Gymternet's preview, Whitlock's appearance in Varna marked his return to the international stage after the Olympic Games in Paris. Although the result was not at the level of his greatest successes, the mere presence of such a name additionally raised the weight of the pommel horse final.
Bulgarian successes on high bar and strong competition on vault
The home crowd had reason to celebrate on high bar as well, where Daniel Trifonov won gold. According to the published results, Trifonov and German Timo Eder had the same score, 13.666, but the Bulgarian gymnast finished first after the ranking rules were applied. Bronze was won by Israeli gymnast Ron Ortal with 13.566. Trifonov also had a second podium in Varna, because he won silver on vault. This made him one of the more important individuals for the home team at this competition and showed the breadth that is especially valued in men's gymnastics. His performance also confirmed that Varna was not only an organizational challenge for Bulgarian gymnastics, but also a competitive opportunity.
On vault, Ng Chun Chen of Malaysia won with an average of 14.183. Trifonov was second with 14.083, while Botond Molnar of Hungary won bronze with 14.049. In the vault final the differences were small, and the ranking was formed through a combination of difficulty and cleanliness of the two vaults. The Malaysian gymnast was among the most stable in the final phase, and his victory fitted into the broader international character of the competition, in which medals were not concentrated only among traditionally strongest European national teams. On parallel bars, gold went to Altan Dogan of Turkey with 14.166. Silver was won by Bulgarian Yoan Ivanov with 13.866, and bronze by Ron Pyatov of Israel, also with 13.866, with the ranking decided by judging details.
Women's competition: victories for the Netherlands, Israel, Poland and Great Britain
In the women's competition, gold on vault was won by Mara Slippens of the Netherlands. According to The Gymternet's results, her average was 13.233, and behind her finished Julia Weissenhofer of Liechtenstein with 13.116 and Croatian national team member Tijana Korent with 13.100. Korent's bronze was one of the more notable results for Croatian gymnastics in Varna, especially because the podium was achieved in a final in which the margins were very small. Slippens secured victory with a combination of stability and sufficiently high difficulty, while her rivals remained within only a few hundredths. In a discipline in which two vaults are scored, such a difference often means that every small correction on landing is decisive.
On uneven bars, Roni Shamay of Israel celebrated with 13.200. Second place went to Britain's Shantae-Eve Amankwaah with 13.133, and third to Canadian Coralie Demers with 12.800. Shamay also competed in other finals in Varna, showing that her result was not an isolated flash but part of a broader stable performance during the competition. Amankwaah, meanwhile, achieved an even greater success on floor that same weekend, making her one of the most noticeable gymnasts of the competition. On beam, Pole Maria Drobniak won with 12.866. Silver was won by Hungarian Nikolett Szilagyi with 12.700, and bronze by Canadian Amy Jorgensen with 12.600. Beam was once again the apparatus on which stability and control carried equal weight with the initial value of the routine.
The highest score in the women's floor final belonged to Shantae-Eve Amankwaah of Great Britain, who won with 13.233. Second was her national teammate Grace Davies with 12.966, while bronze was won by Dutchwoman Floor Slooff with 12.800. Britain's first and second place on floor was one of the strongest team highlights of the entire competition. Amankwaah thereby built on her silver from bars and confirmed that in Varna she established herself as a gymnast competitive on multiple apparatuses. The results also show that in the women's part of the program the victories were distributed among different national teams, without complete dominance by one country.
A large number of first victories changes the picture of the series
The specialized portal International Gymnast reported that eight male and female gymnasts achieved their first career victories at the World Challenge Cup level in Varna. The original report used as a starting point additionally emphasizes the broader thesis that nine out of ten apparatus winners were among first-time gold medallists, while Avetisyan was the only exception as an already proven winner on rings. The difference in wording stems from the way individual sources categorize previous successes and the level of competition, but all available sources agree on the key point: Varna was a competition of new names. This matters for the continuation of the season because the Challenge Cup often serves as a space in which specialists can prove themselves without the pressure of the all-around program. Victory in such a format can open the door to bigger competitions, a stronger international schedule and a better position in national-team selections.
It is especially significant that the gold medals went to a large number of different countries. Belgium, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malaysia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Israel, Poland and Great Britain had winners, while representatives of Croatia, Liechtenstein, Canada, Germany, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Austria and other national teams also reached the podiums. Such a distribution of medals speaks of the breadth of the competition and of the growing competitiveness of gymnastics outside the narrowest circle of traditional powers. In the men's program the Bulgarians stood out in particular, with victories by David Ivanov and Daniel Trifonov and additional medals by Yoan Ivanov and Trifonov. In the women's program Great Britain took the top two places on floor, while Croatia, through Tijana Korent, won bronze on vault.
Croatian performances and the regional context
According to the competition results, Croatia had representatives in both competitions in Varna. Tijana Korent won bronze on vault with an average of 13.100, after also being among the most successful gymnasts on that apparatus in qualifications. Sara Šulekić finished eighth in the uneven bars final, while Antea Sikić Kaučić and Tina Zelčić also appeared in qualifications. In the men's competition Mateo Zugec competed in the pommel horse final and finished seventh, while Marko Sambolec was among the competitors in qualifications. These results show that the Croatian national team had final appearances on several apparatuses in Varna, along with one podium. For gymnastics in the region this is valuable information because Challenge Cups often serve as a measure of readiness between major championships.
The Croatian bronze on vault is especially important because it came in a final with a very tight margin between the medals. Slippens won with 13.233, Weissenhofer had 13.116, and Korent 13.100. This means that there were only 0.133 points between gold and bronze, which in gymnastics can mean the difference between a secure landing and one that is only slightly corrected. In such a final, experience and the ability to maintain performance under pressure are often just as important as the initial value of the routine. Korent confirmed in Varna that she can still compete for podiums at international specialist-profile competitions. In the continuation of the season, such a result can be an important support for planning appearances and choosing competitions.
What follows after Varna
According to the World Gymnastics calendar published on the official website, Varna will be followed by new stops in the Challenge Cup series, including competitions in Tashkent, Koper, Szombathely and Paris. This means that the winners from Bulgaria will not remain on one result for long: the next stops can already confirm whether the performances in Varna were the beginning of a stable breakthrough or a success tied to one competition weekend. For gymnasts who won for the first time, the continuation of the series will be an opportunity to show continuity. For more experienced athletes, such as Avetisyan, the next competitions bring the possibility of strengthening their status as favorites on individual apparatuses.
Varna therefore offered more than a list of medal winners. The competition showed a change of rhythm in international artistic gymnastics, in which, alongside familiar names, specialists ready to take advantage of every mistake by the favorites are appearing more and more often. Bulgaria's home successes, the Armenian confirmation on rings, Malaysia's gold on vault, British dominance on women's floor and Croatia's bronze on vault together form the picture of a competition that opened space for new stories. If the trend from Varna continues at the next stops, the 2026 Challenge Cup series could become an important springboard for a number of male and female gymnasts who first drew louder attention from the international scene precisely in Bulgaria.
Sources:
- International Gymnastics Federation / World Gymnastics – official calendar and announcement about the competition in Varna (link)
- The Gymternet – results of women's finals and qualifications at the 2026 Varna Challenge Cup (link)
- The Gymternet – results of men's finals and qualifications at the 2026 Varna Challenge Cup (link)
- The Gymternet – competition preview, qualification and final schedule and list of registered gymnasts (link)
- International Gymnast Magazine – report on first victories at the World Challenge Cup in Varna (link)