In the vault final at the World Championships in Rotterdam, 34-year-old Arthur Davtyan of Armenia scored 14,850 points and became a two-time world champion. He finished ahead of Britain's Jake Jarman (14,650) and Norway's Sebastian Sponevik (14,366), whose bronze was Norway's first medal at world gymnastics championships.
Davtyan had already won gold in this event in 2022, and now he confirmed that age is no obstacle for vault if you have thousands of repetitions behind you and iron concentration. He placed second in qualifying, but in the final he performed both vaults flawlessly, leaving younger rivals behind.
For Armenia this success was part of a historic performance: two gold and two bronze medals. Hamlet Manukyan took gold on pommel horse, while Mamikon Khachatryan and Artur Avetisyan took bronze on pommel horse and rings respectively. A small federation showed that systematic work with juniors and the experience of veterans produce results even without huge budgets.
Davtyan's secret is not risky elements but control. Like an experienced driver on a slippery road, he does not chase maximum speed but chooses the line where the margin for error is minimal. Two clean landings in the final are not luck but the result of years of polishing one and the same movement.
Davtyan's victory raises the question of the future of gymnastics: while young talents from China and the United States dominate the all-around, veterans like him prove the value of specialization and psychological resilience. Armenia, which collected four medals in Rotterdam, shows that even small countries can influence the balance of power if they invest in long-term preparation.
