Artem Dolgopyat climbed back to the top of a European podium he already knows well, winning gold in the floor exercise final at the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb on Friday with a score of 14.466 — the third continental title of his career.
The 29-year-old, competing for Israel, held off Arsenii Dukhno, who competed as a neutral athlete and took silver on 14.333, while Britain's Harry Hepworth completed the podium in bronze with 14.300.
It is a European crown Dolgopyat has now claimed three times, having first won it in 2020 and defended it in 2022, cementing his status as one of the event's most consistent performers over the past half-decade.
The Zagreb gold sits alongside an Olympic résumé most gymnasts only dream of: Dolgopyat became Israel's first Olympic gymnastics champion at the Tokyo Games in 2021, then returned three years later in Paris to add a silver medal to his collection.
He has been just as formidable at world level, winning the floor exercise title at the 2023 World Championships and taking silver at the 2017 and 2019 editions.
"Artem again proves he is cut from the materials of which great champions are made," said Avi Shagai, chairman of Israel's Gymnastics Federation, in comments carried by Ynet. "Over the years, on the most important stages in the world, he continues to bring tremendous achievements to the State of Israel."
Born in Ukraine, Dolgopyat moved to Israel as a child and has trained with the Maccabi Tel Aviv gymnastics program throughout his rise from the junior ranks to the top of the Olympic podium, becoming one of the most recognisable faces in Israeli sport.
Friday's final was part of the men's apparatus finals session in Zagreb, where Dolgopyat's floor routine — built around his trademark blend of power and clean landings — proved enough to see off a strong field and secure the continental title once again.
