Artem Dolgopyat made history last year winning Israel’s first Worlds silver in artistic gymnastics. This year he showed again this was not a fluke when he won silver at Euros – even though he’s still recovering from an injury and made some mistakes in the event final.
In Israel, he’s getting more recognition and support because of his medals but his life is still far from glamorous. Dolgopyat is currently serving in the army. As an outstanding athlete, he has a special status that allows him to serve half a day and to travel to competitions. However, combining the service with the gymnastics training is still quite hard. On the weekdays, Dolgopyat can only have one practice a week and then have to work at the army base. And long competitions and training camps abroad are not counted as a part of his army service, so time gets added to his service every time.
Walla.co.il did an interview with the gymnast and provided a description of his regular day. Currently, Dolgopyat has his practice in the morning and then drives his 18-year-old car with broken air-conditioning to the army base where he’s basically working as a janitor – he empties trash cans and burns dry leaves. He decided to spend his prize money for the World Championships on fixing his teeth instead of getting a new car:
“I put all my money on new teeth. I had a serious problem since childhood, a problem that not many people encounter, only the elderly get new teeth. I had to get myself a new set of teeth and I put all the prize money that I got last year into it. And that still wasn’t enough”.
His coach, Sergei Vaisburg, insists that getting a medal in Tokyo is less important than continuing the legacy of MAG in Israel following Alexander Shatilov:
“We’re not talking right now about a medal in Tokyo. We’re talking about a gymnast who is capable of continuing what Shatilov did. Artem has the coordination of a cat. You can’t teach that, he was born with it. He has a very strong character because every person that makes the even final is a good gymnast but only the really strong ones withstand the pressure of the final. We’re training the all-around and not just floor so that he can compete on all events at a high level. We want him to compete in Tokyo both on floor and in the all-around”.
Q: Artem, what’s special about you? What drives you to these achievements?
A: Everyone talks about the coordination I have but I’ll tell you what many don’t know. I’m actually very stressed out before the competitions, so much that when I get up in the morning, my whole body is trembling. I can’t even start moving in the morning until I get used to it.
Q: How do you manage to control that pressure?
A: I try to calm myself and I tell myself that it’s just a competition and I know what I’m going to do. It calms me down a bit.
Q: I saw the disappointment in your face a month ago in Glasgow when you finished the routine but at the end, you won silver at the European Championships.
A: I was going to do what I can and I didn’t do it well enough at the last European Championships. I made two big mistakes and I was afraid that I wouldn’t win a medal. I didn’t see how the others did their routines in the final before me because I was the last one. I went to another hall in order to warm up so when I did my routine and went out of bounds with both feet, I thought that was it, but I told myself that I had to continue and to try to get a good result anyway.
Q: How are you working to get better results on other events as well?
A: I work on other events besides the floor in order to improve. I do two practices a day and work on everything.
Q: How did these two medals (from Worlds and Euros) affect you?
A: I’m more stressed now because I have to prove myself again after getting them,
Q: What are your relationships with the media?
A: I almost never read or watch anything about me. I just go to practices and forget who and what I am. I just work all the time.
Q: Do you tell people at international competitions about the fact that you’re a soldier and that you have to work at the army base every day?
A: When I tell them that we have to do three years of the army service, they are astonished and don’t understand how we do it. For example, even in Russia people do one year of the army service and they don’t serve near their home. And the outstanding athletes only do the basic army training course and that’s it. I’d love the army to take my training into account more, to go easier on me. I want to train as much as possible and if I’ll be given more time to train, I’ll be better.
Q: Did the army attitude towards you change after you won the medals?
A: I don’t think so. It’s exactly as it was. I have the special status of an “outstanding soldier” and that didn’t change because of the medals. I’m a general worker at the army base. I empty out the trash cans here and there. I go to the base every day unless there are some special circumstances. I serve from 2 pm to 6 pm and then go home. In the morning, I get up, gather my things, eat and go to the gym. I come to the gym at 10 am, train until 1:30 pm and then go to the army base. And after that, I go home to rest.
Q: And what is your job in the army?
A: I swipe the leaves and empty the trash cans.
Q: And do you ever ask yourself why do you need to do it?
A: I do sometimes because obviously I’d prefer to train and to work but I understand that this is what I do and if I have to then I have to.
Q: This also brings a certain perspective to your gymnastics. Does it make gymnastics more enjoyable?
A: Yes, that’s true. I’d really love to get back to the gym when I’m at the army base.
Q: Were you ever asked at the base to tumble or to show some moves?
A: Yes, they asked me. But I’m not going to do it without mats. Why would I? If someone wants to watch me do gymnastics, I show them a video.
Q: All these competitions surely cause the extension of your army service?
A: My original discharge date is April 8, 2019, but I got already seven extra months of the extensions because I went to competitions. I hope that they’ll cancel it because sometimes it’s possible.
Q: A back injury bothered you in the past, does it still prevent you from achieving more?
A: Perhaps if my back didn’t hurt, something else would. But of course, it bothers me because I don’t do everything at full strength.
Q: Do you get recognized in the streets?
A: [In the army], only the guys who work with me know me. I’ve never met soldiers that would approach me and say “You’re Artem that won the medals”. I was recognized in the streets a few times. Once someone recognized me after the Euros, he told me “Congratulations!”
Q: What do you dream about at night?
A: Get to the Olympics in Tokyo and win a medal.
Q: It’s not such a far-reaching dream, your success wasn’t a one-time thing.
A: I’m starting to believe in myself. I’m starting to believe that it’s not a one-time thing. I always need to work more, to get cleaner and to have better elements in the routine. The stress that I have, that’s the problem. Sometimes, before a competition, I go to sleep and keep going over the routine in my mind and this stresses me out.
Q: We suddenly have a lot of gymnasts [in Israel].
A: There were always a lot of gymnasts at our gym, Hadar Yosef but at some point, they would retire. Today we have a team. I hope that my health will allow me to continue as long as possible.
Q: How is your family reacting to your success?
A: They are very happy that their kid is successful. Now, after the Euros, everyone came for a visit. For example, my brother didn’t know how good I was. He works all the time and suddenly he sees that his brother is the second best in the world.
Q: Is gymnastics something that runs in the family?
A: My dad was also a gymnast for many years but he retired.
Q: Rishon Letzion is now home to the two best Israeli gymnasts – the rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram and you. Is there an explanation for this coincidence?
A: I don’t really know how it happened.
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