Dolgopyat: When I qualified to the final at Worlds, I had to give it my all

Artem Dolgopyat was featured on the Israeli 10th channel. The feature is in Hebrew but it’s worth watching anyway for the shots of the Israeli national team gym, of Dolgopyat doing a Dragulescu into a resi-pit, and some shots of Alexander Shatilov walking around the gym being awesome.

Dolgopyat is still in the Israeli army which means his day has to start no later than 6am in order for him to combine the service and the training. He trains in the morning, goes to the army and then heads back to the gym in the evening.

Sergei Vaisburg, the head coach and Dolgopyat’s personal coach on what makes Artem a champion:

“He has a coordination of a cat that you can throw down from the 9th floor and it always lands on its paws, it’s exactly the same. Although once he fell on his head [at 2017 Baku World Cup] doing a triple salto that he also was one of the first people in the world doing it. But this happens. To cats as well”.

Dolgopyat commented on the fall, saying that it was very scary and at that moment he was only thinking that he wants to live.

Dolgopyat is currently not training on parallel bars and rings because of his back pain: “There are six events in artistic gymnastics. For now, I’m only doing three or four that I can. For now, I can’t do parallel bars or rings because of my back but we’re working on it and trying to improve it”.

On his performance at Worlds and whether he expected to win a medal: “There is always a dream and a desire to reach the final at least, and when I did I told to myself: I have to give it my all. And this moment when they pronounce you the vice-champion gives a really great feeling”.

Sitting between Dolgopyat and Shatilov, Vaisburg said: “My dream is for our two gymnasts to stand side by side on the podium”.

 

Photo: Israeli Gymnastics Federation

 

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