Results of Qualifications, Day 2
May 16, 2025
Results of Finals, Day 1
May 17, 2025
Today, the second day of qualifications took place at the Bonifika Arena, once again thrilling the Slovenian audience.
Excellent routines were delivered by Beno Kunst on vault, and Lucija Hribar and Zala Trtnik on beam, earning them spots in Sunday’s finals. Lucija will also be competing in the floor exercise final on Sunday.
Friday’s qualifications were opened by Luana Lubinič on the balance beam, performing out of competition. Her routine didn’t go quite as planned, as she lost balance and fell from the beam. She received a score of 11.533.
In the second rotation, Lucija Hribar and Zala Trtnik took to the beam. Both delivered strong routines, taking the lead—Lucija with a score of 12.600, and Zala just a tenth behind. In the end, they placed 4th and 5th, respectively. The highest score, 13.333, was earned by Georgia-Mae Fenton from Great Britain, securing her a spot in the final.
Zala, who has been dealing with an old back injury this season and only recently returned to international competition, was very pleased with her performance: “I’m very happy, even though I was more nervous today than at previous competitions. Maybe because it’s a home crowd. I performed an easier routine. I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll do the easier or the more difficult routine in the final. But this competition is really great preparation for the European Championships and a good stepping stone going forward.”
Next up was Beno Kunst on vault, who has consistently reached World Cup finals this season, raising expectations among the Slovenian crowd. He performed his first vault solidly, though with a weaker landing, earning a slightly lower score of 13.166. In the second vault, he made a longer step on landing, for which the judges awarded him 13.433. With an average score of 13.299, he finished 7th and secured a spot in Sunday’s final. “I’m happy that I managed to complete both vaults. It’s true that I made a bigger mistake on the first one, but I’ll really do my best to fix that in the final. I’m not sure if the judges counted that mistake as a fall or not. I didn’t touch the floor with my backside, but maybe they thought I did because of the way my leotard moved. I did land quite deep. The deduction was what it was — now it’s time to fix it in the final,” Beno reflected after the competition.
The top qualifier on vault was Wei-Sheng Tseng from Chinese Taipei, with a score of 13.999.
This year, Slovenia had no representatives on the parallel bars, due to the absence of Kevin George Buckley.
The top qualifier for Sunday’s final was Cameron-Lie Bernard of France, with a score of 13.733. He was followed by Johnny Oshiro from Brazil with 13.200, the same score achieved by Farukh Nabiyev from Kazakhstan, who placed third.
In the final part of the qualifications, the gymnasts competed on horizontal bar and floor, where today’s performances featured the women’s competition.
Luana Lubinič opened the floor exercise, competing out of competition. She delivered a solid routine and received a score of 11.766.
“I’m happy with my beam performance, except for the fall I had. The score was much higher than I usually get for a completed routine. I’m sorry about the fall, but that’s competition—and that’s the beam. As for the floor, I’m very satisfied because I performed the routine as I know it, even though I didn’t train it this week,” said Luana, who transitioned to the senior category this season.
In the official competition, Lucija Hribar represented Slovenia on floor. She executed an excellent series of acrobatic elements and earned a score of 12.533, placing her 4th.
“I would rate my performances today very highly because I competed really well. I hope I can deliver the same in the finals. I truly enjoyed every moment—especially in front of the home crowd. On Saturday, I definitely hope for a podium finish on bars. And on Sunday, I just want to enjoy myself and perform both routines the way I know how, the way I did today—and we’ll see where that takes us,” said a pleased Lucija after the qualifications.
“The girls once again delighted us with strong performances today. Zala and Lucija delivered top-notch routines on the beam and qualified for Sunday’s final with the 4th and 5th scores. We also saw that the scores they are capable of achieving could put them in the fight for medals, even though they just missed the podium today. I think Sunday will be very exciting. The floor exercise will also be interesting, where Lucija qualified in 4th place. I believe this gives us hope that they might improve even more on Sunday,” said Andrej Mavrič, the head coach of the Slovenian women’s artistic gymnastics team, pleased with today’s performances.
Toni Kastelic, a newcomer to the senior category, opened the competition on horizontal bar. This was his second major event of the season. Unfortunately, his routine included a significant error, as he fell twice from the bar. The judges awarded him a score of 9.800, placing him 20th.
“Honestly, I’m not happy with my performance—not even close. I know I can do it really well, and I’ve been executing the routine nicely in training, but unfortunately it didn’t happen today because of the falls. Let’s hope it’ll be better next time. Head held high. Still, performing in front of the home crowd was amazing. The home crowd is something truly special. The atmosphere was great. Your own fans, people you know, supporting you—that’s really something beautiful,” said Toni after his debut in front of the home audience.
The highest score, 13.566, was earned by Riccardo Villa from Italy.
“Beno didn’t perform his vaults particularly well today. It seems things aligned just enough for him to make it into the final, which is great. He’s had a good season, and it would have been a shame if he hadn’t qualified for the final at his home competition. Toni had two falls on a very difficult element. I don’t see it as a big issue or anything serious—it’s just part of the process. It’s a pity, because he could have really shown what he’s capable of and made a good impression at a home meet.
Looking ahead to Saturday, I think Anže and Gregor still have quite a bit left in reserve. Luka as well—although he delivered a very nice routine on the rings, he definitely has a few tenths still to gain.
The fact that the guys have qualified for the finals and will get the opportunity to show what they can do on Saturday and Sunday is already a big step forward. As for what comes next—we’ll see how things develop,” said Sebastijan Piletič, head coach of the senior men’s national team.
Tomorrow marks the first day of finals, and it will be strongly colored in Slovenian spirit. A total of six Slovenian gymnasts will compete for top honors, each on their signature apparatus. The competition will begin at 1:00 PM with the men’s floor exercise, where Anže Hribar will represent Slovenia. Next up will be the women’s vault final, featuring two Slovenian gymnasts: Teja Belak and Tjaša Kysselef. Gregor Rakovič will take on the pommel horse, and Luka Bojanc will compete on the rings, both with hopes of securing medals. On the uneven bars, Lucija Hribar will aim to defend her gold medal from last year’s 18th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup.
