Alexander "Alex" Shatilov ( he, אלכסנדר "אלכס" שטילוב, russian: Александр Шатилов; born March 22, 1987) is a USSR-born

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

. He specializes in the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

, in which he won several medals at World and European Championships, reached the finals at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and competed in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. In 2013, Shatilov won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the European Championship in gymnastics in Moscow, Russia. He represented

Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with its largest contingent to date − a delegation of 90 athletes, 55 men and 35 women, who competed in 15 different sports. This was almost double the previous number of 47 athletes who repre ...

Early life

Alexander Shatilov was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

Soviet Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...

, in a family of

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

descent. He began his gymnastics training in Uzbekistan at the age of 5. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

with his family in 2002. He is unusually tall for a gymnast, at 183 cm or 6 ft.

Athletic career

Shatilov placed seventh at the

2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 39th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 13 to October 21, 2006. The International Gymnastics Federation, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006, introduced a new Code of Points at the ...

, and became the first Israeli gymnast in a world apparatus final. He placed fifth on floor exercise at the

2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar r ...

. He also won a gold medal in the Glasgow World Cup in 2008. Shatilov represented

Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. This was Israel's fourteenth participation in the Summer Olympics. Israel sent 43 athletes to compete in Beijing, the largest Israeli delegation in Olympic history, with the previous ...

. In the

qualifying stage Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

, he placed 8th on the floor apparatus and qualified for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. He placed 29th overall, and just missed the cut for the all-around final. In the floor final he failed to improve his ranking and placed last of the eight finalists, which was still the best ever achievement in artistic gymnastics for an Israeli gymnast. He won

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

s in the floor exercise at the

2009 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 3rd Individual European Artistic Gymnastics Championships for both men and women were held in Milan, Italy, on 29 March to 5 April 2009. Medal winners Men's Individual all-around Finals Floor Pommel horse Rings Vault ...

and the

2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 41st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at The O2 Arena in London from 12 to 18 October 2009. Similar to the 2005 World Championships, there were no team competitions. Individual all-around and event finals were contested. C ...

, and became the first Israeli to win a medal at both events. He won four gold medals and two silver medals at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

in gymnastics. He suffered a serious knee injury in the spring of 2010, and missed the European championships, but recovered in time to place fourth at the

2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at the Rotterdam Ahoy indoor sporting arena in the Netherlands from 16 to 24 October 2010. In this year's championships, there was a total of 73 participating federations with 615 gymnasts ...

. Shatilov was awarded the title of Athlete of the Year in Israel in 2009 and 2013. In 2011, he won the silver medal in the floor exercise at the

European Artistic Gymnastics Championships European Artistic Gymnastics Championships part of European Gymnastics Championships may refer to: * European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnasti ...

. At the 2011 World Championships, he won the bronze medal in the floor exercise, and finished 13th in the all-around final. His achievement qualified him to compete for

Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel sent 37 athletes to the Games, 19 men and 18 women, to comp ...

. Shatilov tied for 4th on

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...

and placed 12th

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, qualifying for the finals in both events. In the men's floor final, Shatilov scored 15.333, and tied with American

Jacob Dalton Jacob "Jake" Dalton (born August 19, 1991) is a retired American gymnast who was a member of the University of Oklahoma gymnastics team and the United States men's national gymnastics team. He represented the United States at the 2012 Summer Ol ...

, but was placed beneath him because Dalton's execution points were higher. In the end, Shatilov placed 6th out of eight athletes. In April 2013, Shatilov won a gold medal at the European Championship in Gymnastics in Moscow, Russia. He received a 15.333 score, and shared first place with British gymnast

Max Whitlock Max Antony Whitlock (born 13 January 1993) is a British artistic gymnast. With fourteen medals and six titles in Olympic and world championships, Whitlock is the most successful gymnast in his nation's history, and the most successful pommel h ...

. Shatilov is the first Israeli gymnast to win the European Championship. In May 2016 he won the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the

Bern, Switzerland german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. In June 2016 he won a gold medal in the floor final at the World Challenge Cup competition in Anadia, Portugal, with a score of 15.100 after qualifying with a 15.350. He competed for

Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed a team of 47 athletes, 22 men and 25 wom ...

, in his third Olympic Games. He did not pass the qualifying round, after scoring a 14.066 in the men's horizontal bar and a 13.5 in his floor exercise. In April 2017, Shatilov won the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He received a 14.400 score. He was chosen to represent

. However, with a 13.5, he did not qualify for the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shatilov, Alexander 1987 births Living people Israeli male artistic gymnasts Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Soviet-Jewish descent Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli sportspeople Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Israel Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in gymnastics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Israel Uzbekistani emigrants to Israel Uzbekistani Jews Russian Jews European Games competitors for Israel Gymnasts at the 2015 European Games Gymnasts at the 2019 European Games Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Early life

Athletic career

See also

References

External links