Turkey wins first medal at artistic gymnastics with silver at Euro championships
Turkish athletes pose with their medals at the European Championships in Men's Artistic Gymnastics in Mersin, Turkey, Dec. 12, 2020. (AA Photo)


Turkey's men's national artistic gymnastics team took home silver medals at the European championships Saturday.

Turkish athletes were the runners-up in the 2020 European Championships in Men's Artistic Gymnastics with 244.793 points after suffering a last-minute injury that forced all-arounder Abdelrahman Elgamal to sit out the floor and vault portion of the competition.

Ukraine scored 248.963 points to win the gold medal at the tournament that was held in Turkey's southern province of Mersin. Hungarian athletes finished third and earned the bronze with 240.393 points.

Saturday's victory was the first medal win for Turkey in artistic gymnastics.

Turkish athlete Ibrahim Çolak was awarded the Shooting star trophy, which aims to put a "gymnast with an exceptional story in the spotlight, someone who is an inspiration for the future generation of gymnasts and the general public alike," according to the organizers.

Meanwhile, Turkish athletes won several individual medals during the final day of the tournament. Mert Efe Kılıçer won silver in high bar and a bronze medal in the parallel bar category, while Bora Tarhan clinched bronze in the rings category.

The athletes were congratulated by the Youth and Sports Minister Muharrem Kasapoğlu for their achievement.

"I congratulate our artistic gymnastics team, who won the gold at the European championships that was hosted by our country," Kasapoğlu said.

"You all are a source of pride for us. I wish you all continued success. And I also thank all those who contributed to this achievement that saw our flag fly high at the tournament."

Following the conclusion of the men’s tournament, the women's championships will start in Mersin Thursday.