Alex Shatilov cemented his place as one of Israel’s best medal hopes at next summer’s London Olympics, claiming a bronze medal in Floor final.
By ALLON SINAIshatilov 311(photo credit: REUTERS)
Alex Shatilov cemented his place as one of Israel’s best medal hopes at next summer’s London Olympics on Saturday, claiming a bronze medal in the Floor final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo.The 24-year-old Israeli won his second World Championships medal in three years after also taking a bronze in the Floor final in 2009, recording on Saturday a score of 15.466, which also secured his place at the 2012 Olympics.Shatilov, who also won a silver medal at the European Championships earlier this year, missed much of 2010 through a serious knee injury, but is now clearly back to his very best and is confident of scaling the podium once more in London next summer.
“I’m delighted with this achievement,” said Shatilov, who ended Friday’s All- Around final in 13th place with an overall score of 87.433.“I had a flawless exercise and as I was the last to compete I knew the score I had to record to take a medal. I knew that if I get it right I will win a medal and set the criteria for London. I can now relax because my place at the Olympics is secure and I have no doubt that I am well capable of taking a medal in London. I will do whatever it takes so that it will be a golden one.”Kohei Uchimura of Japan took the gold on Saturday with a score of 15.633, with China’s Zou Kai winning the silver with 15.500 and Diego Hypolito of Brazil also claiming a bronze with an identical score to Shatilov.
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