Alexander Shatilov competed his first and only routine at the Tokyo Olympics today, his fourth Olympics. His score of 13.500 was enough only for the 47th place in the qualification and he’s been struggling to upgrade his difficulty over the past year. Shatilov told the media he’s not likely to be able to qualify to any more Olympics because he is not willing to train the all-around anymore:
“It’s most likely that I won’t go to the Olympics anymore, but we’ll look at our plans and decide. Look, to qualify to the Olympics I would need to do the all-around. We have a strong team but, unfortunately, not yet at the level of the top 12 teams in the world, so to rely on an all-around competition [for me to qualify] is a bit unrealistic and a but difficult at my age. That’s why I said what I said – these are likely my last Olympics.”
However, he still plans on being involved in the sport even if he does retire:
“Of course I see myself employed in the field of sports, in gymnastics. But right now it’s too early to think about it. I’ve just finished competing at the Olympics Games, so I prefer not to think too much about it.”
His teammate Artem Dolgopyat qualified to the floor final in first and has a chance to win Israel’s first ever Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. Shatilov said it’s been incredible to watch Dolgopyat’s journey:
“I have known Artem since he immigrated to Israel in 2009. We have been working together for many years, he grew up by my side in the world of gymnastics and I saw him develop and improve in the sport – how he turned from a little kid into one of the leading gymnasts, not just in Israel but in the world.”
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