Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat wins bronze at World Championships in Rotterdam

Olympic gold medalist takes third place in floor exercise final, adding to string of victories this year, after being barred from competing at last year’s Indonesia championships

By ToI Staff Today, 6:36 pm 2

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Artem Dolgopyat, of Israel, reacts after competing in the floor exercise during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, October 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won the bronze medal for his floor exercise at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday, marking his fourth European championship title.

The 29-year-old Dolgopyat scored 14.466 in the final, placing third behind the United States’ Frederick Richard, who won gold with 14.633, and Britain’s Jake Jarman, who took silver with 14.600.

“Artem has once again proven his place at the top of the world with a bronze medal at the World Championships, which joins a long series of achievements throughout his impressive career,” said Israel Gymnastics Federation chairman Avi Sagi.

Dolgopyat’s bronze medal came two months after he won gold at the European Gymnastics Championships in Croatia.

In April, he won gold for floor gymnastics at the Osijek World Cup in Croatia, and in February, he won gold in the same field at the FIG World Cup in Germany.

Dolgopyat is also Israel’s second-ever Olympic gold medalist, having secured the win during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, after earning a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Games.

Winner Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat celebrates after winning the Men’s Floor Final during the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, in Antwerp, northern Belgium, on October 7, 2023. (Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

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 Hamas, preventing him from defending his title.

On October 7, 2023, the same day as Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, Dolgopyat won Israel’s first-ever world gymnastics gold in Belgium. The gymnast stood on the winners’ podium with an Israeli flag marked with black tape as the reports came in of the horrific assault.

Two months later, he announced that he was auctioning off the medal to raise money for the Gaza border communities devastated by the Hamas-led attack.

“What is a world champion worth if my country is hurting? For me, the State of Israel is in first place,” Dolgopyat said at the time.