Following an 11th place finish in the all-around, Illia Kovtun of Croatia achieved redemption by securing the silver medal on parallel bars at the World Championships, which concluded on Sunday in Rotterdam.
“Everything went brilliantly today, I think, and we’ll keep working,” remarked the 23-year-old Kovtun, who replicated his silver medal performance on the same apparatus at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Kovtun, who originally represented Ukraine, finished 11th in the all-around at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and later placed fourth in the all-around, second on parallel bars, and fourth on floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Games. His notable achievements at the World Championships include winning silver in the all-around at the 2023 Worlds in Antwerp and bronze in the all-around at the 2021 Worlds in Kitakyushu.
This summer, Kovtun made a remarkable debut for Croatia at the European Championships in Zagreb, where he clinched the all-around gold by the narrowest of margins—just 0.001 points.
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