Occupation
Athlete
Family
Partner Maria Sakovich
Spoken languages
English, Hebrew, Russian
Club
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Israel
Coach
Sergei Vaisburg [national]
Sporting relatives
His father was a gymnast. (gymnovosti.com, 21 Sep 2018)
Injuries
He tore a ligament in his knee during training in March 2023. Despite disruption to his training and experiencing pain in his knee, he went on to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Antalya, Turkiye, where he claimed silver in the floor exercise. Following the tournament, he took around 10 weeks away from the sport to rehabilitate the knee injury and an Achilles tendon injury. (haaretz.co.il, 15 Apr 2023; one.co.il, 01 Jul 2023)
A foot injury ruled him out of the 2022 Israeli Championships, but he was able to compete the following month at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, Germany. (haaretz.com, 21 Aug 2022; timesofisrael.com, 21 Aug 2022)
He competed through pain at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, after hitting his heel on a metal trampoline support two weeks before the competition started. (gymnovosti.com, 27 Jun 2019)
He competed with an injured right foot at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, QC, Canada. (gymnovosti.com, 27 Nov 2017)
He fractured his finger at the 2017 World Cup event in Baku, Azerbaijan. (gymnovosti.com, 27 Nov 2017)
He has experienced back problems throughout his career, and at the end of 2016 he had to take a three-month break from the sport due to the pain. (gymnovosti.com, 09 May 2017)
Start sporting career
He took up gymnastics at age six in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Reason for taking up the sport
"My father did gymnastics for a few years and wanted me to try it. I remember coming into the hall and I saw a lot of children jumping on the trampoline and doing saltos. The kids were two to three years older, I was the smallest in the class. At first, I practised once a week, then twice, then three times. The coach promised candy if I did the elements. Then he replaced candy with juice. But my father started setting specific goals. At 11 years old I was already training for four to five hours each day."
Milestones
He became the first artistic gymnast representing Israel to win a medal at the Olympic Games when he won gold in the floor exercise at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Sep 2021; gymnastics.sport, 08 Aug 2021)
He became the first artistic gymnast representing Israel to win a silver medal at the world championships, placing second in the floor exercise at the 2017 edition of the tournament in Montreal, QC, Canada. (SportsDeskOnline, 19 Sep 2019; gymnovosti.com, 27 Nov 2017)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (redhatbeauty.com, 07 Aug 2021; ynet.co.il, 23 Jul 2023)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold in the floor exercise at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (olympics.com, 03 Oct 2022)
Hero / Idol
Israeli gymnast Alexander Shatilov. (olympics.com, 03 Oct 2022)
Awards
He was named the 2017 Israeli Sportsman of the Year. (fig-gymnastics.com, 27 Jun 2018)
Additional information
FROM UKRAINE TO ISRAEL
Born in Dnipro, Ukraine, he moved to Israel in 2009 at age 12. "I didn't speak the language, I didn't have anything. It was summer, so the schools were on vacation and I spent all my time in the gym. I tried to talk to the other guys, ask them questions, but every time I had to find someone who spoke Russian to translate for me. Slowly I started understanding Hebrew. I never went to classes, I learned all my Hebrew at the gym." (timesofisrael.com, 12 Oct 2019; gymnovosti.com, 09 May 2017)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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