At the age of 19, Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos became the second French gymnast in the sacred history of the European Championship in the general competition on Friday in Szczecin, Poland. De Dos Santos thus imitates Marine Debauve, crowned European champion of the exercise fourteen years ago, in 2005. With 55.433 points, she narrowly precedes the British Elissa Downie (55.365), defending champion, and the Russian Angelina Melnikova (55,065).
Injured in January. Her participation in the general competition was only decided late: injured in the left ring finger mid-January during training on uneven bars, the Martinique gymnast was initially limited to the ground, of which she is the outgoing champion, and on the beam. The choice was wise. "DJDS" took second place on Thursday. And in the final, at the foot of the podium midway, she made the difference on the last two apparatus, the beam and the ground, which she obtained the best scores.
Three finals still to play. Two years ago, for his very first European Championships, De Jesus Dos Santos was quick to distinguish himself by climbing on the third step of the podium of the general competition. She was then ranked fifth at the 2017 Worlds and sixth at the 2018 Worlds. Her competitive week is not over yet: her program still includes three finals per apparatus to be played this weekend, on the floor, on the beam and asymmetrical bars.