Andrey Medvedev has made history for Israel at these World Championships by winning a bronze medal on vault. The four medals the country had from Worlds before that were all on floor (two bronzes by Alexander Shatilov and two silvers by Artem Dolgopyat). Medvedev is not a newcomer, he’s been competing on the international level for a long time. However, his first medal at a major international competition came only in 2019, at his 7th European Championships and his fifth European VT final. Despite going to multiple World Championships, it is his first ever vault final at Worlds. Moreover, in 2018, he got injured on vault in the qualification and was wary of competing on the same equipment in Kitakyushu.
Medvedev told Gymnovosti about his long road to this medal:
“I’m still in heaven, I’m full of adrenalin, endorphins and all the chemicals that make your brain explode. I had a long journey towards this. Many athletes say after successful competitions – it was a long journey. Guys, I’m the one who actually had a very long journey. I’m 31 years old, it’s my seventh World Championships. This was generally my goal. I’m an optimist and I truly gave it a lot of energy, a lot of thoughts. You could say, I gave it my whole life. That’s why I believed that sooner or later it was supposed to happen.”
Medvedev’s journey was full of challenges and injuries and, perhaps, some would have given up by now, but Medvedev said his love for gymnastics was his main motivation to keep going:
“I think I kept at it, first of all, because I really love what I do. I love gymnastics very much. When you do what you love, you don’t have to work as they say. So, I think what kept me going was my love for gymnastics. But I am also a very ambitious person, I’m a perfectionist, and I want to get things to perfection in any area of my life. So, I work to improve myself not just in the gym but also outside the gym.”
