Our medal expectations were primarily focused on Tin Srbić and Ana Đerek, and while our Olympic hopes experienced injustice and disappointment, we were delighted by the young forces from the back of the line - 20-year-old Žugec became the Mediterranean Champion with a final score of 14,250, while Vlahek (24) won silver with a score of 14.150. Bronze went to Turkey's Ferhat Arican with a score of 14,000. Remember, Žugec and Vlahek made it to the finals of Pommel Horse from first and fourth place, while in highly controversial referees’ outcome of the Horizontal bar qualifiers, the reigning Olympic Champion Tin Srbić took the ninth place, that is, remained the first reserve for the finals, respectively.
Ana Đerek and Tijana Korent failed to win medals. Korent finished fifth in the Vault finals, while Đerek finished sixth in her two finals - Beam and Floor exercise. Korent reached fifth place in Vault with a score of 12,900, just 0.3 points lower than bronze Italian Andreoli and fourth-placed Slovenia's Kysselef. Italy's D'Amato won gold with 13,875 and France's Osyssek-Reimer won silver.
Đerek was closer to the medal in Floor exercise with a score of 12.850, which was only 0.2 points lower than the bronze Osyssek-Reimer. D'Amato was also the best in Floor exercise with 13,500, ahead of fellow athlete Maggio with 13,300. In Beam, Đerek received a score of 12,600 for her performance, which was 0.5 points lower than the bronze Frenchwoman Carolann Heduit, while gold and silver were again won by the Italians - gold by Maggio with 13,550 and silver by D'Amato with 13,250.
Croatia has currently seven medals in Oran, where two gold and four bronze medals are now also adorned with the first silver medal.
Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) congratulates Mateo Žugec on winning gold and Jakov Vlahek on winning silver in Pommel Horse at the Mediterranean Games in Oran!
