Israeli Olympic champion Dolgopyat wins gold at Gymnastics World Cup in Germany
Tokyo medalist scores 14.500, says that ‘hearing the anthem is the most exciting thing there is’
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Israel’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics Champion, Artem Dolgopyat, won the gold medal in floor gymnastics at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany on Saturday.
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 the Games.
Dolgopyat, a two-time European champion, secured gold in floor gymnastics with 14.500 points in the final following two days of qualifiers. Silver and bronze went to Belarus’s Yahor Sharamkou and Russia’s Aleksandr Kartsev, who scored 14.400 and 13.900 points respectively.
In total, seven Israeli athletes in multiple categories – including pommel horse and parallel bars – advanced to the apparatus finals in Cottbus, but only Dolgopyat won a spot on the podium.
Following the competition, Dolgopyat said he felt “pretty good,” but “the routine wasn’t perfect. So, of course, there’s still something to work on.”
“In two weeks, we’re going to another World Cup, so good luck to us,” he continued. “Standing on the podium is, of course, always fun, and hearing the [Israeli national] anthem is the most exciting thing there is. But we’re leaving it here today and moving on.”
???????? Israeli gymnast, Artem Dolgopyat, wins GOLD???? in Gymnastics at the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Germany with an impressive 14.50 score!
A huge achievement and a proud moment for Israel athletes.
????Israel Gymnastics Federation pic.twitter.com/PhUyhTs31s
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) February 22, 2026
The win marked the start 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. The revised rules reduce the number of elements counted toward difficulty and place greater emphasis on execution — a shift that some say may play to Dolgopyat’s strengths.
The next World Cup in the circuit will take place March 5-8 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Dolgopyat is Israel’s second-ever Olympic gold medalist. His latest victory comes against the backdrop of the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Israel pulled its four-man bobsleigh team from competition after learning that a member had lied about being unwell to allow the team’s alternate to compete.
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.
The Times of Israel Community.