Israeli floor gymnasts share podium with gold and bronze at Croatia World Cup
Artem Dolgopyat takes top spot, Noam Berkovich comes in third, in Osijek
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Israeli gymnasts Artem Dolgopyat and Noam Berkovich stood together on the podium on Saturday for the national anthem, after winning the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the floor gymnastics final at the Osijek World Cup in Croatia.
For gymnasts from countries without full Olympic teams, like Israel, the World Cup circuit is a key qualification pathway, as the top-ranked gymnasts on each apparatus can secure individual places for their countries in the final series of competitions before this year’s world championships in Rotterdam.
During the finals, Dolgopyat secured the gold with a score of 14.500, in second place was Harry Hepworth from the UK, scoring 14.433 points, and in third place was 17-year-old Noam Berkovich with 14.000 points.
Seven Israeli athletes in multiple categories competed in Croatia, with only the two from the floor gymnastics event winning medals.
President Isaac Herzog posted congratulations on X, saying the pair “delivered a double and most impressive achievement for the Israeli team and represented the Israeli spirit at its best on the podium — with two Israeli flags and the playing of our national anthem ‘Hatikvah.'”
The win is part of the 2026 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup season under the sport’s new code of points, which took effect for the 2025-2028 Olympic cycle.
כבשו את הפודיום: ארטיום דולגופיאט ונועם ברקוביץ' זכו במדליות זהב וארד בגמר הקרקע בגביע העולם באוסייק
צילום: באדיבות איגוד ההתעמלות@YoavBorowitz pic.twitter.com/0rugKKVh4R— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 11, 2026
The revised rules reduce the number of elements counted toward difficulty and place greater emphasis on execution — a shift that some say played to Dolgopyat’s strengths.
In February, Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany.
גאווה ישראלית בקרואטיה!
סיימתי כעת שיחה עם המתעמלים הישראליים ארטיום דולגופיאט, האלוף האולימפי, ונועם ברקוביץ׳ בן ה-17 בלבד, על שזכו היום במדליית הזהב ובמדליית הארד בגביע העולם בקרואטיה.
בתרגילים מרשימים, הם העניקו הישג כפול ומרשים ביותר לנבחרת ישראל וייצגו את הרוח הישראלית… pic.twitter.com/WMWi8uUuHW
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) April 11, 2026
Last year, Indonesian authorities refused to grant Dolgopyat a visa to compete at the World Championships, citing objections from groups such as a council of Islamic clerics and the local government over Israel’s conduct during the war with the Hamas terror group, preventing him from defending his title.
He is an Olympic gold medalist, having secured the win during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Times of Israel Community.