Athlete Artem Dolgopyat made history on Sunday, winning Israel's first Olympic gold medal in artistic gymnastics in the men's floor exercise final at Ariake Gymnastics Center in Tokyo.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
This is only the second Olympic gold medal in the Jewish state's history. The first was scored by windsurfer Gal Friedman in the 2004 Athens Games. Israel's national anthem, Hatikva, echoed throughout the stadium as a visibly emotional Dolgopyat accepted his medal to roaring applause.
With this, Israel has so far won three medals in the Tokyo Olympics – a bronze in taekwondo and a bronze for the mixed judo team.
Artem Dolgopyat of #ISR takes #gold in the #ArtisticGymnastics men's floor exercise final - a first gold for Israel since Athens 2004!#StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @gymnastics pic.twitter.com/bQMwL30YRi
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 1, 2021
Dolgopyat's win brings Israel's overall Olympic medal tally to 12.
His final routine scored him 14.933 points, besting artistic gymnast Rayderley Miguel Zapata of Spain, who won the silver medal, and Xiao Ruoteng of China, who took the bronze.
Dolgopyat, a 24-year-old two-time world championship silver medalist, who immigrated to Israel at the age of 12, was widely touted as one of Israel's hopes for a medal in the Olympic Games.
President Isaac Herzog congratulated Dolgopyat, saying, "Artem, you are a champion! You have made history today. The State of Israel is proud of you!"
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, "Congratulations to Artem Dolgopyat for winning the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. You have made blue-and-white history. Such excitement and pride for everyone in Israel."
Culture and Sports Minister Hili Tropper said, "Artem made history in the gym! I'm full of appreciation for this young gymnast who has been working so hard for years and has marked an unprecedented achievement for Israel in this sport."
Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon tweeted, "Israel has won an Olympic gold medal! Artistic gymnast Artem Dolgopyat delivered a perfect performance. He is an outstandingly talented athlete whose name will be remembered in history. Well done!"
The win will see Dolgopyat receive a grant from the Israeli Olympic Committee in the amount of 500,000 shekels ($155,000). His coach will receive a NIS 250,000 ($75,000) grant, and the men's national gymnastics team will receive a NIS 50,000 ($15,500) grant.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
