Two weeks of acrobatic gymnastics at Toto Arena in Holon, Israel, in late 2019 produced some of the most memorable routines of the cycle. The European Age Group Competitions came first, followed by the junior and senior European Championships. Looking back, a few storylines stand out.
A venue that raised the level
The Israeli Gymnastics Federation put real care into the setting. The hall, the competition floor and especially the lighting gave the event the feel of a show rather than a sports hall competition. Acrobatic gymnastics is a discipline where staging matters, and the gymnasts responded with performances that matched the atmosphere.
Four triple crowns
Only at the European Championships could units compete for three titles: balance, dynamic and combined. Winning all three requires steady nerves across three finals on consecutive days. - Israel's junior women's pair, Almog Green and Maayan Zunenshine, completed the set. - Israel's junior women's group, Meshi Hurvitz, Nikol Aleinik and Inbal Zeitounei, matched them. - Belgium's senior women's group, Talia De Troyer, Britt Vanderdonckt and Charlotte Van Royen, already double European Games champions from Minsk, added three European titles. - Russia's mixed pair, Viktoria Aksenova and Kirill Startsev, took all three senior mixed pair titles, continuing a line started by Marina Chernova and Georgiy Pataraya, who won the triple crown in 2015 and 2017.
Israel's style
Israel had built a reputation for expressive routines and original choreography long before Holon. In front of a home crowd, that identity turned into medals, especially among the juniors. The results suggested a programme with depth across categories.
Belgium's consistency
The Belgian women's group showed what it takes to stay at the top in acrobatic gymnastics: exceptional balance work, secure dynamic elements and choreography that made the most of three very different roles in the group.
Why it still matters
Holon 2019 was the last acrobatic European Championships before the pandemic disrupted the calendar. For many of the units on the podium, it marked a peak that could not immediately be followed up with the next season's events.
See the Holon 2019 archive page and our Acrobatic Gymnastics discipline page.
