Gymnast Shatilov stumbles his way out of Rio

Gymnast Alex Shatilov, who carried hopes of winning a medal for Israel in Rio, saw his hopes dashed in disappointing style.

In what were the 29-year-old’s third Olympics, Saturday’s first day of action was one to forget after he failed to qualify for the finals of both the floor and horizontal bars competitions.

Having finished eighth in Beijing in 2008 and sixth in London four years ago, an early stumble in the qualifiers saw him lose any chance of finishing in the top eight – and securing a place in the last week’s final. Finishing the floor with 13.500 points, 6.000 for difficulty and 7.500 for execution, he also performed disappointingly in the bars, registering a score of 14.066 points, 6.700 for difficulty and 7.366 for execution.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “Things didn’t go as I planned, but that happens in sport and there’s nothing I can do about it. You need to know how to cope with disappointments and life continues. I trained hard and wanted to have a good competition, but you can’t turn the clock back. I started my floor drill well, but a small mistake cost me and I knew I had no chance after that. I never imagined a scenario like this.”

Not getting drawn on whether he would retire as a result, he added: “I can continue both physically and mentall because I saw what I’m capable of in my recent competitions and I still have a passion for the sport.”

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF ALL THE ISRAELI AND JEWISH ATHLETES IN RIO HERE: