Swiss Olympian Lena Bickel won two titles and gymnasts from the host country claimed 10 medals at the World Challenge Cup of Tashkent that ended Sunday.
Bickel earned her third and fourth World Cup or World Challenge Cup medals by placing first on uneven bars on Saturday and first on floor exercise on Sunday. She took gold on floor exercise at the 2024 World Challenge Cup of Koper and silver on balance beam at the 2025 World Challenge Cup of Paris.
Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Quỳnh Nhu, 27, won gold on women's vault. Last year she claimed silver on vault at the Asian Championships in Jecheon and was second reserve for the vault final at the World Championships in Jakarta, where she ranked 10th in qualifications.
In the first World Cup or World Challenge Cup final of her career, 16-year-old Evelina Yezhova finished first on balance beam. She placed ninth all-around at last year's Asian Championships and 51st all-around in qualifications at last year's Worlds.
Eight-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, who will turn 51 on June 19, placed fourth on vault, 0.025 points away from bronze.
In the men's competition, Emil Akhmejanov of Kazakhstan won gold on floor exercise, adding to his collection of World Cup or World Challenge Cup medals that also includes bronze on vault at the 2023 World Challenge Cup of Osijek and bronze on floor exercise at the 2023 World Challenge Cup of Varna.
Rayan Radkov of Bulgaria improved by nine spots from last year's edition to take gold on pommel horse, the first World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal of his career.
Uzbekistan's Akhrorkhon Temirkhonov successfully defending his 2025 title on still rings. Temirkhonov, who also placed first on parallel bars last year, claimed silver on still rings at the 2024 World Challenge Cup of Varna and bronze on still rings at this month's World Challenge Cup of Varna.
On vault, Daniel Trifonov of Bulgaria won gold to claim the second World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal of his career. He finished first on parallel bars at the World Challenge Cup of Varna two weeks ago.
Trifonov's 30-year-old teammate, Yordan Aleksandrov, took gold on parallel bars. Aleksandrov, a veteran of nine world championships, boosted to nine his tally of World Cup or World Challenge Cup medals.
Uzbekistan's 21-year-old Alisher Boysarov jumped five positions from last year's edition to earn gold on horizontal bar.
2026 World Challenge Cup of Tashkent
May 21-24
Women:
Vault:
- Nguyen Thi Quỳnh Nhu VIE 13.375
- Pranati Nayak IND 13.025
- Shakhinabonu Yusufova UZB 12.950
Uneven Bars:
- Lena Bickel SUI 13.00
- Sofia Mester CRO 12.90
- Samira Raffin SUI 12.85
Balance Beam:
- Evelina Yezhova KAZ 12.85
- Tina Zelcic CRO 12.65
- Dildora Aripova UZB 12.45
Floor Exercise:
- Lena Bickel SUI 13.10
- Dildora Aripova UZB 12.80
- Solikha Tursunboeva UZB 12.60
Men:
Floor Exercise:
- Emil Akhmejanov KAZ 13.65
- Khumoyon Islomov UZB 13.60
- Enkhtuvshin Damdindorj MON 13.50
Pommel Horse:
- Rayan Radkov BUL 13.90
- Mansur Rahmatov UZB 13.70
- Diyas Toishybek KAZ 13.65
Still Rings:
- Akhrorkhon Temirkhonov UZB 13.85
- Nguyen Van Khanh Phong VIE 13.85*
- Ozotilla Abdurasulov UZB 13.50
*tie broken in favor of Temirkhonov's higher Execution score
Vault:
- Daniel Trifonov BUL 13.95
- Dimitar Dimitrov BUL 13.825
- Altynkhan Temirbek KAZ 13.80
Parallel Bars:
- Yordan Aleksandrov BUL 13.70
- Akhrorkhan Temirkhonov UZB 13.50
- Saba Abesadze GEO 13.35
Horizontal Bar:
- Alisher Boysarov UZB 13.65
- Diyas Toishybek KAZ 13.60
- Daniel Trifonov BUL 13.45
International Gymnast Online's features on 2026 World Challenge Cup of Tashkent competitors include:
