Double medalist Dolgopyat wants to inspire young athletes to ‘believe in themselves’
Returning to Israel, decorated gymnast says short-term plans are surgery on leg and marrying his longtime fiancée; Israeli equestrians, individual dinghy sailors end Olympic runs
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Double Olympic medalist Artem Dolgopyat arrived back in Israel on Monday evening from the 2024 Paris Olympics, and said he hopes to inspire the next generation of Israeli athletes and gymnasts.
On Saturday, Dolgopyat became the first Israeli in history to win back-to-back medals at Olympic Games, with gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris in the men’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise. He is now Israel’s most decorated Olympian, surpassing windsurfer Gal Fridman who won a bronze in 1996 and a gold in 2004.
“It warms my heart to see the young people here who see me and want to take a photo with me,” said Dolgopyat during a press conference at Ben Gurion Airport after his return from the Games. “I’m showing that it’s possible and that they need to work hard and to believe in themselves.”
The gymnast said that he had a tough week in Paris, after a shaky performance in the qualifiers that initially left his advancement to the finals in doubt.
“I was almost 70 percent sure that I wouldn’t make it to the final,” he said, but those around me “believed in me and told me that I would get there.”
He admitted that he was under a great deal of pressure to bring home a medal, feeling the weight of Israeli hopes on his shoulders as one of the delegation’s strongest contenders.
“It stressed me out, I knew that everyone was counting on me,” he said, noting that the feeling was even more intense before Israel had won any other medals in Paris. “So thanks Peter [Paltchik] and Inbar Lanir and Raz Hershko for giving me a little room to breathe. And I hope we’ll bring many more medals.”
Israel is already having its best-ever Olympic performance, picking up six medals so far — bronze from Paltchik and silver from Lanir and Hershko, respectively, in judo. as well as gold to windsurfer Tom Reuveny, and silver to windsurfer Sharon Kantor — surpassing its record-setting four-medal haul from Tokyo.
Dolgopyat dismissed claims by some that he should have won the gold medal in Paris or that the scoring was influenced by anti-Israeli sentiment: “I got the score that I deserved,” he said. “I’m positive that it’s not because I’m Israeli or anything like that.”
The two-time medalist said that the first thing on his agenda now that the Olympics is done is to tend to his injured leg, including surgery on his Achilles tendon, and after that to set a wedding date with his “almost wife,” Masha Sakovichas.
“In the meantime I don’t want to look too far ahead, first to take care of my health, and after that we’ll see how I feel and if I can… I believe so, but that’s life, and my health comes first,” he said.
After his gold medal win in 2021, Dolgopyat’s mother revealed that the couple are unable to legally marry in Israel since the gymnast — who moved to Israel from Ukraine when he was 12 — is not considered Jewish by the Chief Rabbinate, and there is no civil marriage in Israel.
“She’s the most important person in my life, and she always pushes me forward,” he said. “She’s had a ring for three years we just haven’t managed to reach the final destination.”
With six days left in the Paris Olympics, Israel still has some shots at earning additional medals, most strongly with its rhythmic gymnastics team, as well as individual rhythmic gymnast Daria Atamanov.
On Monday, Israeli sprinter Blessing Afrifah competed in the heats in men’s 200m dash, failing to secure a spot in the semifinal round but getting another shot in Tuesday’s repechage race.
Also Monday, none of Israel’s equestrian athletes succeeded in qualifying for the individual jumping final, ending their Olympic runs.
Colombian-Israeli Daniel Bluman, considered the strongest rider of the delegation, had to end his round early after his horse Ladriano refuses to jump over one of the obstacles. French-Israeli Robin Muhr received eight penalty points and US-Israeli Isabella Russekoff received 20 penalty points, with none finishing among the top 30 who advanced to the final.
Russekoff, the reserve member of the Israeli team, competed in place of Ashlee Bond, who decided not to take part in the individual competition to allow her horse to recover following a challenging round during the team jumping final. Overall, the Israeli team finished 9th in the team competition last week after qualifying for the final.
Over in Marseilles, after nine races in the women’s dinghy event, Shay Kakon was ranked 24th overall, and did not advance to the medal races, ending her Olympic bid. In the men’s event, sailor Omer Vered Vilenchik ended his eight races in 30th place and also did not advance.
Low winds caused the cancellation of races in the mixed dinghy sailing event, with the final races set for Tuesday, as Israeli duo Nitai Hasson and Noa Lasry are still aiming to qualify for Wednesday’s medal races.
After their races, Israeli kitesurfer Gal Zukerman moved up a spot to 10th position in the women’s Kite Foil, while Dor Zarka dropped down to 13th place, with another 10 preliminary races scheduled in the events.
On Wednesday, taekwondo athlete Avishag Semberg — who won a bronze in Tokyo — will open her competition with a match against Saudi athlete Dunya Abutaleb in her first match in the women’s under-49kg weight class.
