In January 2018 European Gymnastics, then still called the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG), launched a fan vote for the best gymnasts and performances of 2017.
Five categories
Fans voted in five categories: male gymnast, female gymnast, team, rising star and outstanding performance. Nominations came from the technical committees, the staff and the 50 member federations, so the list covered every European discipline rather than only the Olympic ones.
Examples from the shortlist
– Daniel Bali (Hungary) won his first individual European title in aerobic gymnastics in Ancona with 22.950, a full point clear, and added silver in mixed pairs and bronze with the group. He also won medals at the World Games. – Pablo Brägger (Switzerland) won the horizontal bar title at the 2017 Europeans in Cluj-Napoca, a result the Swiss federation highlighted as the reward for coming back from two elbow fractures.
Why it matters
Votes like this give the smaller disciplines a rare place next to artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. A season that included the Europeans in Cluj-Napoca, Budapest and Ancona and the World Games in Wrocław gave fans plenty to choose from.
Related archive entries: 2017 aerobic Europeans in Ancona and 2017 artistic Europeans in Cluj-Napoca.
