Dolgopyat is European Champion again: 'Hearing Hatikvah every time anew - it is the greatest thing there is'

Artem Dolgopyat has done it again. The Israeli gymnast from Maccabi Tel Aviv won the gold medal on Friday in the floor exercise at the European Championships in Zagreb, after presenting a routine in the final that received 14.466 points from the judges. For Dolgopyat, this is his third European title in his career on the apparatus on which he became one of the greatest gymnasts in the world.

Dolgopyat arrived at the competition with vast experience, but also with a heavy load. At the beginning of the championship, he participated in all apparatuses in the qualifiers and helped the Israeli national team finish in tenth place in the all-around and achieve the team qualification for the World Championships. Afterwards, he was required to recover and reach the floor final - the apparatus on which he won Olympic gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris. In the end, despite a performance that he himself defined as less good, the score was enough to grant him the gold.

'I am already at an age where it is harder for me with the performances, especially after I participated in the all-around. The recovery is difficult, that is why I had a less good routine in the final. I am 29 years old and have to deal with young rivals who do things I can no longer do.'

The medal he added joins an especially impressive list. Dolgopyat won the European Championship in the floor exercise in 2020 and 2022, and was crowned four more times as European vice-champion - in 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024. In the World Championships, he has also accumulated three medals on the floor: gold in 2023 and two silver medals, in 2017 and 2019. The highlight remains the two Olympic medals - the gold in Tokyo 2020 and the silver in Paris 2024.

'I know that I am still at the top and I proved it again, otherwise I would not be competing. For me, hearing Hatikvah every time anew is the greatest thing there is.'

However, the celebrations are not expected to last long. Dolgopyat is already looking towards the next mission - the World Championships in Rotterdam, which will be held in about two months.

'The next important goal of the season is the World Championships in Rotterdam in two months. There is no time to recover, we are already starting the preparations. It was important for us to achieve a team qualification for the World Championships and it made it difficult for me. But I want to secure my entry to the Olympic Games in China next year and then we will start thinking about them.'