Jessica Gadirova retains her European title in women’s floor exercise

There have been tumbles and tears, doubtless the odd bruise too. Crises of confidence that required reassurance to repair. Even since arriving in Munich for these European championships, Jessica Gadirova felt her belief waver under the microscope with errors often invisible to the naked eye.

On Sunday, though, the 17‑year‑old gymnast was resolute and rigorous and the reward was gold in the floor exercise and a successful defence of her continental crown.

Skipping and leaping with the greatest of ease, Gadirova headed her rivals with a score of 14.000 with her twin sister Jennifer fifth.

A team silver-medallist here already, this was a level above, validation for skipping the Commonwealth Games to give this her all.

And for occasional moments of damaging deflation, including a slip on the beam during qualification, where she simply had to push through.

“I just tried to put them behind me and just keep moving forward and try to forget about what happened,” Gadirova declared.

“Because those don’t really define me. I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of. And I think it definitely shows that I’m capable of achieving great things.”

Silver and bronze were secured by the Italian duo Martina Maggio and Andrea Andreoli but Gadirova’s gold supplemented a silver on the balance beam for her compatriot Ondine Achampong who was bested only by Germany’s Emma Malewski. A newcomer since team bronze was acquired by the British women at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, there are now high standards to match.

“It does come with an expectation,” Achampong, 18, said. She has deferred an academic offer to the University of California until after the Paris 2024 Olympics. “That drives you on because you can’t slack off. You have to be