Montpellier hosted the sixth individual European Championships in April 2015, with men and women competing in the same week. It was a qualifying year for Rio only in the broad sense that every big result built confidence for the World Championships that autumn, where Olympic places were really decided.
Steingruber's breakthrough
The headline result for many observers was Giulia Steingruber winning the women's all-around title. It was a landmark for Swiss gymnastics, and it confirmed Steingruber as one of the most complete gymnasts in Europe: powerful on vault and floor, steady enough on bars and beam to avoid the costly mistakes that decide all-around finals. She went on to win an Olympic bronze on vault in Rio the following year.
Her win also showed something about the individual format. Without team-selection politics, a gymnast from a federation outside the traditional powers could go straight at the biggest title, provided she hit four routines in a row.
The format in brief
- Qualification decided places in the all-around final and the apparatus finals. - A maximum of two gymnasts per country could reach each final. - Seniors only, with no junior competition in the individual-year programme of that time.
Why Montpellier 2015 is a good reference point
Mid-cycle championships are where routines mature. By 2015, gymnasts had two full seasons with the 2013–2016 Code of Points, and difficulty scores had risen noticeably compared with Moscow 2013. If you are trying to understand how quickly the sport adapts to a rule change, comparing 2013 and 2015 results side by side is instructive.
Things to notice when you rewatch
- Vault: the power gap between vaulters who performed two different vaults for the apparatus final and those who could only manage one. - Floor: tumbling passes were getting longer and landings more controlled. - Men's all-around: the rotation order and how leaders protected a lead on pommel horse and high bar.
Read next
Our scoring guide explains why the all-around is so unforgiving, and the 2017 Cluj-Napoca championships show the same format two years later.
