Hamlet Manukyan and Celia Serber star in a magical Christmas Cup

French gymnast Celia Serber took the headlines from this weekend’s Christmas Cup, winning two of the four competitions in the WAG competition.

Across the men’s apparatus, there were victories for European stars such as Alexander Myakinin and Kevin Penev, in addition to standout performances from youngsters like Hamlet Manukyan.

In the first ever Christmas Cup, held alongside Elevien, gymnasts were able to display their skills for the final time in 2024 from their home gym. And with fans able to follow along through the Elevien app, the Christmas Cup presented an opportunity for stars to shine and new ones to become established.

France’s Serber was the standout, taking victory across floor and uneven bars. And Serber wasn’t alone, at the top of an all-French podium across both disciplines.

In the other women’s disciplines, Croatia’s Mila Prpic made another big statement with a 12.600, the same score as Romania’s Olympian, Amalia Ghigoarta. And on vault, Dominika Ponizilova (CZE) moved to a convincing top score of 13.050.

In the men’s competition, 2020 European medallist Myakinin (ISR) scored a big 14.300 on the horizontal bar for victory, whilst Penev (BUL) won on the floor with a 13.766.

Hamlet Manukyan, the pommel horse winner at the Junior European Championships in Rimini earlier this year, finished narrowly ahead of countryman Gagik Khachikyan. And with Mamikyon Khachatryan in third, it was a statement day from Armenia’s gymnasts.

It wasn’t just on the pommel where they achieved success either. Rings specialist Artur Avetisyan was on top with 14.000, joined in the top three by Vagahn Davtyan (third), with Alex Diab of USA in second.

And on the parallel bars, Ivan Brunello of Italy claimed the victory with a 13.300.

Men’s Competition

Floor

1. Kevin Penev (BUL) – 13.766
2. Ivan Brunello (ITA) – 12.933
3. Uri Zeidel (ISR) – 12.833

 

Pommel Horse

1. Hamlet Manukyan (ARM) – 14.550
2. Gagik Khachikyan (ARM) – 14.450
3. Mamikon Khachatryan (ARM) – 14.150

 

Still Rings

1. Artur Avetisyan (ARM) – 14.000
2. Alex Diab (USA) – 13.650
3. Vahagn Davtyan (ARM) – 13.250

 

Parallel Bars

1. Ivan Brunello (ITA) – 13.300
2. Dagur Kari Olafsson (ISL) – 13.066
3. Daniel Mousichidis (GER) – 12.500

 

Horizontal Bar

1. Alexander Myakinin (ISR) – 14.300
2. Ivan Brunello (ITA) – 13.650
3. Martijn De Veer (NED) – 13.200

 

Women’s Competition

Vault

1. Dominika Ponizilova (CZE) – 13.050
2. Katrina Jurevica (LAT) – 11.925
3. Lilou Carmona (FRA) – 11.725

 

Uneven Bars

1. Celia Serber (FRA) – 13.300
2. Ming Gherardi Van Eijken (FRA) – 13.200
3. Romane Hamelin (FRA) – 12.350

 

Balance Beam

1. Mila Prpic (CRO) – 12.600
2. Amalia Ghigoarta (ROU) – 12.600
3. Lana Pondart (FRA) – 12.150

 

Floor

1. Celia Serber (FRA) – 11.600
2. Ambre Frotte (FRA) – 10.500
3. Lana Pondart (FRA) – 10.350

 

To watch the winning routines back, head to the European Gymnastics Instagram and Facebook pages. And to watch all routines, download the Elevien app.