Antalya. At the championship held in Antalya Sports Hall with the participation of 319 athletes from 39 countries, one of the athletes who grew up in Izmir, is a 24-year-old Turkish man of Egyptian origin. Adam Asilbecame the European champion with 84,965 points in the general classification, Jarman Jake from England took the second place with 83,463 points, and Illia Kovtun from Ukraine took the third place with 83,032 points.
Adem, who wore the gold medal in the ring at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship last year, and won the silver medal in the ring, the general classification and the bronze medal in the team at the 2022 European Championships, raised the bar again in Antalya. Adem Asil’s gold in the general classification became the first in this branch at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championship, and Turkey’s 4th gold medal in total. Previously, İbrahim Çolak won the gold medal in the ring at the 2020 European Championships individually and Ferhat Arıcan in parallel, and in 2021, Ferhat became the first national athlete to win 2 European championships in a row by wearing the gold medal around his neck.
„I won a medal in my own home“
Adem Asil, who congratulated Yılmaz Göktekin, the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics National Team Coach, who trained him in İzmir, when he won the championship, said that he was very happy to reach the gold medal at home. Adem, who now has his eyes on the instrument finals, said, „I am very happy but above all I am very proud. I was on the podium today to become the European Champion and add a new page to my story. And I am happy that I won the gold medal in the general classification final at my home, in front of my own audience. I am living one of the most memorable days of my career. Since the first day I set out, my goal has always been to create my own sporting heritage by writing my own story in the best way possible. Now it’s time for instrument finals“He made the statement.
He hasn’t seen his family for 5 years.
Adem Asil, who started gymnastics in Egypt 5.5 years ago and settled in Izmir to continue his career with Coach Yılmaz Göktekin and national athletes, has not seen his family for years. Adem, who came to Turkey at the age of 18 and stayed with Yılmaz Göktekin and his family, learned Turkish fluently by studying at Ege University School of Physical Education and Sports. Adem, who became a Turkish citizen and changed his name to Abdelrahman Elgamal, has not been able to go to his family for years.
The athlete, who could not compete for 2 years because there was no approval from Egypt, shone in international organizations in a short time. Adem Asil, who managed to win medals in 4 European Championships in a row, became the second world champion in the history of Turkey after İbrahim Çolak by becoming the champion in the ring at the 2022 World Championship. Adem, who won silver as a team in 2020, bronze in the pull-ups in 2021, bronze in the general classification and silver in the ring in the European Championship in 2020, went down in history with a total of 7 medals, 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze at the 2022 Mediterranean Games.