Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat gave Israel its first-ever world gymnastics gold medal Saturday after winning the men’s floor final in Antwerp, Belgium.
Dolgopyat’s achievement went under the radar as the country faced a deadly, surprise assault by Hamas terrorists.
Dolgopyat scored 14.866 points to take the title ahead of Japan’s Kazuki Minami (14.666), with Milad Karimi (14.600) giving Kazakhstan its first world medal since 1997 with bronze.
“This is probably the happiest day for me and for my country, but it isn’t really,” he said after his victory, holding an Israel flag with black stripes on it. “I want to send everyone strength, hugs and health.”
Ukraine-born Dolgopyat, 26, won floor silver at the worlds in 2017 and 2019, before claiming Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021.
In 2022, he won a gold medal for his floor routine at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Munich, despite suffering an injury to his foot a month earlier.
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The athlete immigrated to Israel from Ukraine at the age of 12 and is considered one of Israel’s most successful athletes.
באחד מהימים הקשים במדינה, ארטיום דולגופיאט הופיע בגמר תרגיל הקרקע באליפות העולם בהתעמלות וזכה במדליית הזהב. ביום בו הפך לספורטאי הישראלי הגדול בכל הזמנים, הוא התקשה לחייך ורק התעטף בדגל ישראל עליו הניח סרטים שחורים. אלוף העולם. pic.twitter.com/UHYjYoGysi
— Asi Maman אסי ממן (@MamanAsi) October 7, 2023
