Ward 4th & Hazleton 7th at 2026 Junior Euros Vault final

Irish junior gymnasts Robert Ward and Finlay Hazelton hit truly historic Vault final results at the 2026 European Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, finishing in 4^th and 7^th position with scores of 13.416 and 13.116 respectively.

Great result for Ward and Hazelton, who gained the European Top-8 final at their first junior European Championships participation.

Ward also made history by qualifying for the junior All-Around Top 24 final tomorrow, Sunday 23^rd August at 9am Irish Time.

Coach Wayne Healy commented:
"I’m extremely proud of Robert. Finishing 4th in Europe is a phenomenal achievement. His focus and work ethic under pressure has been exceptional all week. He's right up there with the best in Europe now, and we're ready to take the next step into the All Around final tomorrow."

Coach Scott Shearon commented:
"In the apparatus finals today, we had Rob & Fin competing on Vault for Ireland. Fin finished in 7th place with a total score of 13.116 which was an improvement on qualifying position from 8th place. Rob showed great character to push on from qualifying in 5th position to sitting in 3rd place right up to the very last gymnast but just missed out by 0.5 resulting in a 4th place finish. However, finishing 4th in Europe is still a fantastic result for Rob & I am very proud of him. Both gymnasts showed what potential they have for the future & represented their country with pride. They should be very proud of themselves as I am as a coach. Huge congratulations goes out again to the coaching team & everyone behind the scenes."

Gymnastics Ireland Performance & Technical Director Sally Johnson said:
"Robert showed real composure and quality to finish just outside the medals, while Finlay also delivered a strong performance to secure an excellent seventh-place finish. Both gymnasts can take a huge amount of confidence from this experience. They have shown that they can compete with the best juniors in Europe, and this will be an important step in their development.We’re incredibly proud of the work they’ve put in and the way they represented Ireland on the European stage. Congratulations and well done to the gymnasts support team and coaches!"

Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher added:
"Superb day out for our Gymnastics Ireland junior men in the top-8 Vault final at the 2026 Europeans. 2 x quality performances from both Finlay hitting 7th and Robert 4th in what was a historic day for both lads, their coaches and the wider men’s programme! 2 young gymnasts with huge potential for the future!"

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Well done and congratulations to all gymnasts, coaches and judges!

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