Olympic gymnastic champion Petrounias wins as Cairo WC finals opens

Olympic champion Eleftherios Petrounias bagged a rings gold on the opening day of Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup finals in Cairo on Sunday, with five gold medals decided across men's and women's events, reported Xinhua.

Olympic champion Eleftherios Petrounias showcased his experience on the rings to secure gold, followed by Armenia's Artur Avetisyan, who earned silver, while China's young gymnast Liu Yang took the bronze.

Petrounias said he had overcome a last-minute muscle cramp to compete in Cairo, adding that he was satisfied with his performance but aiming for higher scores in the future.

"For me, this championship means, first of all, points for the qualification to the World Championships in Rotterdam in October. And second of all, I'd like to compete in different countries and tournaments to be able to adapt anytime anywhere very fast," the Greek told Xinhua.

He added that his long-term goal remains the Olympic stage.

"My dream is to reach the LA Olympics and leave with one more medal," he added.

The first day of finals featured five apparatus events, including three for men and two for women.

In the men's floor exercise final, neutral athletes Daniel Marinov and Arsenii Dukhno took the gold and silver respectively, while the Philippines' Karl Jahrel Eldrew Yulo secured the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Armenia's Hamlet Manukyan topped the standings in the men's pommel horse final to claim gold, while Kazakhstan's Zeinolla Idrissov and Nariman Kurbanov finished level on points to take silver and bronze.

On the women's side, Spain's Laia Font took gold in the vault final, finishing ahead of Panama's Hillary Heron, while China's Yu Linmin secured the bronze.

Font said she hadn't expected her victory but was proud of her performance, noting that the result would boost her confidence for upcoming competitions in the Olympic cycle.

"We've already had some competitions preparing for these vaults, so I came with a bit of practice -- a little, but not much," she told Xinhua.

In the uneven bars final, Algeria's Kaylia Nemour, one of the discipline's leading performers, edged China's Jiang Shuting to win, while Slovenia's Lucija Hribar came third.

The competition will conclude on Monday with five more apparatus finals, including the men's vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar, and the women's balance beam and floor exercise.

Held from April 3 to 6, the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup brings together dozens of gymnasts from over 30 countries and regions, competing at the Cairo International Stadium indoor halls complex.