39th DTB Cup started with the Junior Team Challenge

The four-decade-long history of the DTB Cup began 40 years ago with the 1^st EURO tournament in artistic gymnastics. As a top-class tournament with "GRAND PRIX status", it even received the DTB CUP dignified unofficial title of "Wimbledon of artistic gymnastics", largely shaped by its creator at the time, Mr. Robert BAUR, and was one of the highest-calibre World Cups until 2019. (→ 40 years of the DTB Cup; in German only).
After a three-year pandemic break, it returned to the world gymnastics calendar in 2022 outside of the FIG World Cup series and introduced a new competition format, including the Mixed Cup. In addition to the familiar Team Challenge, a Team Challenge for juniors was also introduced for the first time.
Last event in the Porsche Arena of Stuttgart on Sunday will be a show event - the Mix Competition ....

♦  Team Challenge GIRLS   * Saturday, 16 March 2024,

Germany's girls will competed with Lara Baumgartl, Aliya-Jolie Funk, Madita Mayr, Michaele Muehlhofer and Charleen Pach.
They will face competitors from 7 different countries (BEL; FRA; JPN; CAN; AUT; ROU; TUR).
The individual apparatus finals of the girls and boys will take place together with the DTB Cup finals of the elite (- see below).* Samstag, 16. März 2024
 ♦  With the strongest beam performances in particular, FRANCE secured victory in the junior women's event, beating JAPAN (148.150) into second place with 150.550 points. GERMANY secured the bronze medal less than half a point behind (147.700), followed by Canada (143.250), Belgium (141.650) and Romania (132.200).
► R E S U L T S:  Team Challenge, Girls
    * Individual qualifying 6 finalists, only on per nation):
      > Vault;    > Uneven bars;   > Balance beamn;   > Floor exerc.
+ + +

♦ APPARATUS FINALS, Girls : (Sunday, March 17
* FINAL RESULTS:  ► VAULT;    ► U.BARS;   ► B.BEAM;   ► FLOOR EX.
 (c) gymmedia / -ehe-

.

♦♦ 39. DTB-POKAL 2024 - Elite, MEN & WOMEN

The international guests from a total of 15 nations include QIU, Qiuyan (CHN) and Yul Moldauer (USA), who are currently renowned athletes.
⇒ Germany's men will be represented by veteran Andreas Toba and current German all-around champion Pascal Brendel, as well as Nils Dunkel, Timo Eder and Lucas Kochan. Parallel bars world champion Lukas Dauser is planning an individual start later in the Olympic year:
⇒ In Germany's women's competition, four newcomers to the elite field will be making their cup debuts: Helen Kevric and Marlene Gotthard (both Stuttgart) as well as Claudine Soliman (Böckingen) and Lisa Woetzel (TuS Chemnitz). Meolie Jauch (Stuttgart), Janoah Mueller (Haßloch) and Karina Schoenmaier (TuS Chemnitz) will also be competing.
 

♦ TEAM CHALLENGE - Elite / MEN   * Friday, March 15

After more than 5 hours of competition in 2 rounds, the USA squad was also victorious in the MEN's TEAM CHALLENGE: with a lead of more than 3.5 points, the USA took second place with 251.727 points ahead of Squadra Azurra from ITALY (288.062). The team from CHINA (246.062) came third, ahead of Switzerland (241.494) and host nation Germany (240.027) in 5^th place out of a total of 13 competing nations.
♦  RESULTS:  ►  Team Challenge Männer

* The individual results on the apparatus also served as qualification for the finals (only 6 per apparatus):
<<  The highest score of the day was achieved by the US Pan-American winner on parallel bars Curran PHILLIPS with (6.9)=15,500 points, (< photo, left)
in front of Yul Moldauer (USA),
who is also qualified for the pommel horse and the rings event finals ...
Host Germany will start with
- Pascal Brendel (2. floor) and
- veteran Andreas Toba (4. high bar).
* App. Results:
► FLOOR EX.;  ► POMMEL H.;    ► STILL Ri ;
► VAULT;    ► P.BARS;    ► H.BAR
  + + +

.
* MEN's Finals - Elite (Saturday, March 16)
Leading after preliminaries on the floor, but Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat (ISR) twisted out of position in the final and Switzerland's Matteo GIUBELLINI landed a surprise victory. Behind him was silver for Germany's Pascal Brendel. Matteo GIUBELLINI was celebrated on horseback for his double success, and Halle's Nils Dunkel was just as happy, winning bronze behind Italy's Edoardo de Rosa with a clean performance. After stumbling on the Kolman somersault, Germany's veteran Andreas Toba only managed 6^th place on high bar.
* FINAL RESULTS:
► FLOOR Ex.;   ► POMMEL H.;   ► S. RINGS;    ► VAULT;    ► P. BARS;    ► H.BAR:
 + + +

♦ TEAM CHALLENGE - Elite / WOMEN   * Saturday, March 16

Despite a weak vault round, CHINA's women took the lead with top scores on all three other apparatus and ultimately won this team competition with a clear 162.450.
Second place went to the well-travelled gymnasts from AUSTRALIA in 2nd place (159.450) and, as the best vault nation, made up over two points on China alone.
Third place went to FRANCE (152.900), albeit with a considerable points difference of over 6.5 points behind Australia.
Canada followed in 4th place with a difference of just -0.1 points. Host Germany followed in 5th place (149.600), ahead of Spain, Belgium and Austria.
♦  R E S L T S:  ►  Team Challenge, WOMEN
Apart from the vault, where Giorgia GODWIN (AUS) marked the best value with her two vaults (4.8/5.0)=13.425, the Chinese dominated all other apparatus:
 Last year's 16-year-old Asian all-around champion QIU, Qiyuan, who also won her very first World Cup (in Baku, 2023), marked the highest score of the day on uneven bars with difficulty D=6.8 and 15.350 points, and was also unbeatable on beam with (6.7)=15.250, closely followed by her compatriot ZHOU, Yaqin, with (6.8)=14.850, who also led the competition as the best on floor with the highest E-score.
In front of her home crowd in Stuttgart, Germany's Marlene Gotthardt on vault and Meolie Jauch on uneven bars both qualified in third place for the 6-element finals.
* Individual apparatus:  (Sunday, March 17)
  ► Vault;    ► Uneven bars;   ► Balance beam;    ► Floor exerc.
  + + +
♦ WOMEN's Apparatus Finals
 * Giorgia GODWIN (AUS) won the vault, Germany's former gymnast Carina KROELL now represented the German-speaking countries for Austria and finished fourth.
* On uneven bars China's QIU, Qiyuan, performed magic again, even with an increase of 1/10 point to (6.8)=15.450 - a feast for the eyes!!!
* Beam then saw an enormous increase in difficulty by QIU, Qiuyuan from 6.7 to 7.0 (!!) and thus the day's highest score of 15.500 - the "rest" of the final field were in a different league, even if Marlene Gotthardt (GER) came third with (5.0)=13.300!
* Giorgia GODWIN secured her second victory on floor, with Carina Kroell in Austrian service in fourth place, another German-speaking gymnast in the final.
* FINAL RESULTS, Elite:
    ► VAULT;    ► U.BARS;  ► B.BEAM;   ► FLOOR EX.
  + + +