Analysis: The 24-year-old won Israel’s first-ever medal at the Europeans two years ago, taking the bronze in the floor final.
By ALLON SINAIshatilov 311(photo credit: REUTERS)
Alex Shatilov claimed his second career medal at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, taking the silver in the floor exercise final in Berlin.The 24-year-old won Israel’s first-ever medal at the Europeans two years ago, taking the bronze in the floor final, and also claimed the country’s first medal at the World Championships, coming third in 2009.A serious knee injury saw Shatilov miss last year’s Europeans, but he proved Saturday that he is back to top form and will be one of Israel’s best medal hopes in next year’s Olympic Games in London.“This is my best finish in the Europeans,” said Shatilov, who recorded a result of 15.400, second only to the 15.500 achieved by Romania’s gold medal winner Flavius Koczi.“I’m making constant progress and this medal gives me a lot of confidence. My next target is the World Championships in October in Tokyo and of course my main goal is the Olympics where I am aiming for the gold.”In other Olympics news, Sergy Rikhter became the first Israeli to officially book his place at the London Games after finishing the 10-meter Air Rifle World Cup competition in Changwon, South Korea in second place on Saturday.
