Matteo Giubellini is only 19 years old, yet he performed like a veteran at his Olympic premiere in qualifying. The 21-year-old Florian Langenegger also seems to have no nerves.
28.07.2024, 00:03
28.07.2024, 08:04
SDA
The two youngsters in the team made a decisive contribution to the Swiss finishing seventh in qualifying and once again reaching the team final of the best eight nations, just like at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Matteo Giubellini in 12th place and Florian Langenegger in 20th place are also in the all-around final of the best 24, which will take place next Wednesday.
"I was nervous at the beginning, but then I was able to enjoy the competition," said Matteo Giubellini in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "We know that we can do the exercises, so the only question is whether we can pull them off on the day. That worked out wonderfully. Ultimately, it's a question of attitude. If you can use the many spectators to your advantage, then it works."
These statements underline just how mentally strong the son of former European parallel bars champion Daniel Giubellini is, because it should not be forgotten that he is competing in only his second major event for adults in Paris after the European Championships in Rimini at the end of April. Matteo Giubellini admits that there were a lot of impressions to take in during the first few days in the Olympic Village, including meeting French President Emmanuel Macron. But by now he has seen most of it and can concentrate on the sport again. "After all, we're here for the gymnastics."
Florian Langenegger also impressively proved that pressure does not exist in his vocabulary. The man from Aargau was the first Swiss gymnast on five of the six apparatus and only showed minor uncertainties. "It's ideal to have such a gymnast in your team," Matteo Giubellini praised him. Langenegger said: "I like to start so that I don't have a long break after the short warm-up. I was very confident in all the exercises. Of course, something can always happen, that's out of the question, but I didn't feel under pressure."
However, he said he had soft legs before the first apparatus, after which it was like any other competition. Langenegger had not expected to be in the all-around final. He benefited from the fact that teammate Noe Seifert, eighth in the World Championships and fifth in the European Championships in the all-around last year, failed twice on high bar. The difference between the two after six apparatus was just 0.1 points.
Seifert took the failure in his stride. "Of course it's a shame, but I don't begrudge Flo it." The team was the main focus, the individual classification was secondary. "That's why it's a good thing."
