Gymnast wins bronze at Euro Champs

Israeli gymnast Alex Shatilov continued his medal-winning streak at the weekend when he won bronze at the Artistic Gymnastics European Championships in Bulgaria.

However, having won gold last year, he had to share bronze with GB’s Daniel Purvis, after both scored 15,400 points in the floor final.

The 27-year-old said: “The final was really difficult as most of the gymnasts didn’t make any big mistakes, I will continue to work hard in order to increase my execution level and I’m optimistic I will be able to achieve that.

“My preparations for these championships weren’t that straightforward as I was sidelined and couldn’t jump for a while because of the injuries to my elbow and ankle. I did what I could ahead of these championships and I’m happy I took a medal.”

Shatilov now sets his sights on October’s World Championships in Nanning, China, where he will be looking to at least match the bronze he won in 2009 and 2011. He said: “I will increase my execution level and will be strong and ready for the World Championships, I know it is going to be a lot tougher there.”