Gymnastics-Dolgopyat wins ground exercise for Israel’s first gold
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Gymnastics – Inventive – Men’s Flooring Exercise – Medal Ceremony – Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Tokyo, Japan – August 1, 2021. Gold medallist Artem Dolgopyat of Israel celebrates on the rostrum with his medal REUTERS/Mike Blake
TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) – Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade chalked up Olympic firsts for their countries with gold medal wins in gymnastics on the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
Dolgopyat won the men’s ground exercise by a whisker, edging Spain’s Rayderley Zapata to give Israel its 2d ever Olympic gold and first in gymnastics.
Andrade, a surprise silver medallist within the all-spherical competition, pulled off but another shock within the females’s vault as she went one better to give Brazil its first ever females’s gymnastics gold.
American Mykayla Skinner, filling in for reigning Olympic and world champion Simone Biles – who dropped out over mental successfully being components but used to be on Sunday cheering her compatriot on from the stands – grabbed silver.
South Korea’s Yeo Seojeong took bronze.
Dolgopyat, twice an global silver medallist within the identical event, posted a ranking of 14.933, the identical as Zapata. However the Israeli took top self-discipline on the rostrum because his routine had a greater degree of dispute.
China’s Xiao Ruoteng took the bronze for his third medal of Tokyo 2020.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett used to be amongst the first to congratulate Dolgopyat praising the 24-year-aged for making “blue and white history”.
“How we waited to peek the Israeli flag raised,” tweeted Bennett, who later known as Dolgopyat within the blended zone.
The gold used to be impartial the 2d on the Olympics by an Israeli athlete, the diversified coming in crusing on the 2004 Athens Summer season Games.
“It formulation loads to me,” acknowledged Dolgopyat. “I’ve been dreaming about it since I was six years aged. I’m basically overjoyed that I was in a position to attain it and offers my country the valid gift.”
Andrade, who has been the surprise equipment of the gymnastics competition, posted a winning total of 15.083 to top Skinner on 14.916 and Yeo 14.733.
The competition used to be once another time lacking its big name attraction as American Biles scratched from each and every the uneven bars and vault finals.
Biles, 24, has now not been viewed in competition since falling by the wayside of the team event on Tuesday after impartial one vault pronouncing later that she used to be wrestling with mental successfully being components and a disaster of self assurance.
Reporting by Steve Keating in Tokyo; modifying by John Stonestreet
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