Shortly before flying to Qatar, Alexander Shatilov and Artem Doglopyat talked to One.co.il about competing at the World Championships, their plans for qualifying to the Tokyo Olympics and the experience of competing in Qatar – they first time they visited an Arab country.
Unfortunately, the competition did not go so well for the team today and while it still has a chance of making the top-24, the only event final candidate for now is Artem Dolgopyat. Shatilov had a rough floor routine and Andrei Medvedev fell on his second vault.
While the team was acknowledged in the arena, with the announcer praising both Shatilov and Dolgopyat, Israel’s most decorated gymnasts, the only broadcast that showed this qualification subdivision, by a Qatari channel Alkass, made sure not to show even partial routines of the Israelis, switching to show the audience or other gymnasts waiting for the scores while the Israelis competed. They did not even deem necessary to show the reigning silver medalist competing on floor. Let’s hope that the team does not encounter this type of treatment in real life and it will only be limited to the broadcasts or internet attacks.
Shatilov:
“It’s a new experience for me to compete in a country like Qatar. Throughout my career, I’ve never competed in Arab countries. We talk a lot about what is going on around us but we will try to concentrate only on the competition itself”.
Shatilov doesn’t believe Israel will be able to qualify a full team to Tokyo but he thinks there is a good chance to send three gymnasts – a big step from Rio when only Shatilov was able to go:
“We have a chance to send three gymnasts because Andrey Medvedev also has a chance to qualify via the event final on vault. He has the same chance as the two of us do to achieve something significant in Tokyo”.
Dolgopyat on his plans for the competition:
“I want to qualify to the final first and then think about the medal podium. All of the competitors are good and everyone [in the final] has a chance to reach the podium. As for me, I will try to upgrade. At the last year’s Worlds I did a 6.5 routine and here I’ll try to do a 6.6 routine and hope for the best”.*
Q: Last year’s Worlds were crazy for you, especially since you made a breakthrough there, winning a silver medal. Did this surprise you?
Dolgopyat: Of course, I was surprised. It was my first medal at a major competition. I had no words, I couldn’t believe that it happened at first. It takes time to process that you’re a silver World medalist.
Q: Alex, when you saw him winning this medal, what was going through your mind?
Shatilov: I was happy for him because it’s such a huge achievement. The final was at a very high level and the competition was tough, so I was happy that he was able to manage the pressure and his nerves. It’s good, I hope he continues like that. You have to understand, to get onto the medal podium at such a competition is a huge deal”.
Q: Both of you are now at the highest level in the world, do you feel like it? Are you looked at differently?
Shatilov: Yes, there’s nothing to hide, we know that we’re among the best gymnasts in the world, especially on floor. Often, people say: “Who do we have at this competition that can qualify to a final. Well, we have two Japanese gymnasts, two Russians and two Israelis”, so we’re always being taken into account.
Q: How did it happen that both of you are strong on floor?
Shatilov: Look, in the end, we are quite similar to each other. Both Artem and I are strong tumblers, we have good coordination, both of us spent lots of time on the trampoline when we were kids. I also think that for our coach, Sergei Vaisburg, it was easier to help Artem improve on floor after my achievements. It’s true that Artem and I didn’t exactly follow the same path but following what Sergei went through with me during my career, he knew exactly what was needed to be done in order to bring Artem to great achievements.
Q: How does it feel to compete in a country like Qatar?
Dolgopyat: In the beginning, I had a lot of problems with traveling here, but it’s very exciting and I know that I’ll never visit a place like this again. It’s a crazy feeling. But no matter where I compete, to hear the Israeli anthem while standing on the podium is what excited me the most.
Shatilov: I have a very good feeling and I’m looking forward to this competition. I’m glad that we are flying there and that we were allowed to represent our country without being treated differently from the others. In my opinion, this gives us additional motivation to succeed because it’s not a regular competition and it’s not a regular country.
Dolgopyat has suffered quite a few injuries in the past couple of years and he was dealing with an ankle injury right before Euros. He praised the team’s physical therapist, Adam Badir, for helping with the injury:
Recently, I have been suffering from severe pain in my leg and I had to change the difficulty of my routine all the time. Adam Badir saved me more than once and now, too, I’ve almost scratched from the competition because I couldn’t walk. I hope that everything will be fine and that I’ll do a good routine. If I’ll be able to do a good routine, I’ll have good chances [to medal].
Q: Even a chance to win gold?
Dolgopyat: Gold? I don’t know. For now, I intend to qualify to the final and when I arrive there, I’ll aim for the podium. Whatever happens happens.
Shatilov is trying to modify his training in order to avoid injuries and focus more on work while spending less time on routine repetitions:
We are constantly looking to change things in our routines. Our sport requires perfection so, I keep looking for the most exact landing that I can do or some new element. We work on that a lot and try to improve. I’ve made some changes since the European Championships so that my current floor routine is more comfortable for me and this way I believe I’ll be able to get the most out of it.
Q: What do you think the podium will be at the World Championships?
Shatilov: Everything is open. On my good day, anything is possible, even a gold medal. Of course, everything will depend on how others will wake up in the morning. First of all, I’ll need to qualify to the final because I think that this is no less difficult task than medalling. And in the final, anything is possible.**
Israeli men’s gymnastics was mostly associated with Shatilov for many years but now he has a team surrounding him:
You could say that I was a pioneer but slowly the other talented guys appeared. We’re still not at the stage where we strive to be because we still don’t have a long reserve bench with a lot of gymnasts. We still only have the same 6-7 gymnasts. We strive to have more than that.
Q: Alex, Artem is being called your heir. Is this also reflected in your training together?
Shatilov: We always support each other. Sometimes, before the competitions, there is positive tension and competition between us and we are trying to take it to a positive place. We’re not looking for rivalry or anything like that. We are training with the same coach, we have a great atmosphere and it’s fun. There’s also laughing when it’s needed and necessary.
Both Shatilov and Dolgopyat dream of having a dedicated gym for the national team, preferably the one where men and women could have dedicated training spaces. At the moment, both MAG and WAG national teams train in the same gym which also has recreational classes and competitive gymnasts of all ages and levels. In addition, the gymnasts often live far from the gym and have to either go home between the two practices or stay in the gym which has no area for them to rest:
Shatilov: Everywhere in the world, there are training centers that are only for the senior national team. There are even places where men’s and women’s teams train separately. This is not the case here”.
Dolgopyat: If I have a morning practice and an evening practice I prefer to stay in the gym because by the time I get home with all the traffic, I’ll have to drive back to the gym. Of course, I would be happy if we had a national team training center here, it would be great”.
Q: Artem, do you get recognized on the street?
Dolgopyat: Yes, from time to time, and it’s really nice. People support me and tell me “good luck” all the time. I hope that what I’m doing makes them happy.
Shatilov: In Israel, our sport is known and we feel it. It’s not like football but it’s nice to know that what we did here and what we will do is not forgotten.
*Dolgopyat did a 6.4 routine in the qualifications.
**Shatilov was not able to qualify to the floor final.
Photo: Israel Gymnastics Federation
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