Pauline Schäfer-Betz and Helen Kevric return from injuries at Zagreb European Gymnastics Championships 2026; Germany secures World Championships berth.

European Gymnastics Championships 2026: Pauline Schäfer-Betz, 29, and Helen Kevric, 18, shine on return from devastating injuries

The German pair talk to Olympics.com about being happy to be back challenging for medals at the continental championships in Zagreb and beyond.

Injuries do not discriminate when it comes to the age of gymnasts.

You can be a 28-year-old veteran of three Olympic Games and need hip surgery due to persistent issues or a 17-year-old emerging force who sustains an injury during the competition of just your second senior European Championships.

Both happened in 2025, but thankfully, the artistic gymnasts to whom we refer – Pauline Schäfer-Betz , the former, and Helen Kevric , the latter – are back competing at the 2026 European Championships in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Zagreb, and looking strong contenders for medals in both apparatus finals on Saturday (15 August) and the team event on Sunday.

Kevric had already helped the German team to a best-ever women’s team result at the continental championships in 2025, with silver, before the injury occurred on vault in the all-around in which she was also a contender.

The team are eyeing similar, or better, come the last day of competition in the women’s edition.

“I really love the team,” Schäfer-Betz told Olympics.com after qualifications on day one, which also doubled as the individual all-around final . The Saarbrücken native qualified for the beam final, an apparatus on which she is a three-time World medallist including gold in 2017.

“It was really nice to compete with them and also it’s really funny that I’m almost double the age of my team-mates but we came together, we really rocked the gym and let’s see what happens on Sunday.”

Kevric, who qualified top for the uneven bars with a huge score of 14.766 and is first reserve for the beam final also enjoyed her return.

“I felt really good today. I’m actually very satisfied with my performance and today’s routines and I’m really looking forward to the finals on Saturday and Sunday,” the now 18-year-old told Olympics.com before commenting on the final day’s team event.

“It’s something new, but I actually think it’s cool. We put in a good performance as a team today, and I’m sure we can build on that on Sunday."

So, confidence is brimming but it’s been a challenging period for both – physically and mentally - to make it back to the top echelons of the sport.

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Patience required in injury recovery

“The mental recovery is even more important than the physical,” Schäfer-Betz told us. “Of course, you need your body to perform and do gymnastics, but you also need your brain, and if your thoughts or your mental health isn’t there, you can’t compete at this high level.

“Every athlete has problems with surgery sometimes. Also, in my situation, last year I got my hip surgery, and it really took a long time to get back to gymnastics, but everything is possible.”

The compatriots have got a number of elite gymnasts from whom to gain inspiration that comebacks are achievable even at a later career stage.

Olympics.com cited the likes of Canada’s Ellie Black , 30, who had weeks ago claimed an all-around title at the Commonwealth Games eight years after her first , and Australia’s Georgia Godwin , 28, who returned to the international fray after mental health struggles following an ACL injury just weeks before the Olympic Games in France began to help her team claim gold.

“I love that a lot of all the gymnasts are still competing at this high level,” said Schäfer-Betz. “I really like sustainable gymnastics and I really appreciate also seeing Ellie and everyone else on the field of play.”

There’s still much work to be done in Zagreb before thoughts turn to the next major competition, the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam in October.

Courtesy of the team’s top eight finish in Croatia, Germany have qualified a team for the Netherlands-hosted championship. The top three teams secure a quota spot to LA28, so the qualification process already begins for the Olympic Games in California.

“LA feels very close to me now,” said Kevric, an 11-time medal winner at the European Youth Olympic Festival including six golds. “The last two years have really flown by.”

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the LA Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at LA28.

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