Alexander Shatilov

Alexander "Alex" Shatilov (Hebrew: אלכסנדר "אלכס" שטילוב‎, Russian: Александр Шатилов; born March 22, 1987) is an Israeli artistic gymnast. He specializes in the floor exercise, in which he won several medals at World and European Championships, reached the finals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, and competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2013, Shatilov won a gold medal at the European Championship in gymnastics in Moscow, Russia.[2] He will represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Alexander Shatilov
Alexander Shatilov at the 2015 European Championships in Montpellier, France.
Personal information
Full name	Alexander Shatilov
Nickname(s)	Sasha (Саша)[1]
Country represented	Israel
Born	(1987-03-22) March 22, 1987
Height	183 cm (6.00 ft)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Sergei Vaisburg
Medal record Representing  Israel World Championships 2009 London Floor Exercise 2011 Tokyo Floor Exercise World Cup Final 2008 Madrid Floor Exercise European Championships 2013 Moscow Floor Exercise 2011 Berlin Floor Exercise 2009 Milan Floor Exercise 2012 Montpelier Floor Exercise 2014 Sofia Floor Exercise 2016 Bern Floor Exercise 2017 Cluj-Napoca Floor Exercise

Early and personal life

Alexander Shatilov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in a Russian Jewish family. He began his gymnastics training in Uzbekistan at the age of 5. He immigrated to Israel 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, and became the first Israeli gymnast in a world apparatus final. He placed fifth on floor exercise at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He also won a gold medal in the Glasgow World Cup in 2008.

Shatilov represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the qualifying stage, he placed 8th on the floor apparatus and qualified for the final. 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.

Shatilov at Wingate Institute

He won bronze medals in the floor exercise at the 2009 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and became the first Israeli to win a medal at both events.[3]

He won four gold medals and two silver medals at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in gymnastics.[4] 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. Shatilov was awarded the title of Athlete of the Year in Israel in 2009[5] and 2013.[6]

In 2011, he won the silver medal in the floor exercise at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[7] At the 2011 World Championships, he won the bronze medal in the floor exercise, and finished 13th in the all-around final.[8]

His achievement qualified him to compete for Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Shatilov tied for 4th on floor and placed 12th overall, qualifying for the finals in both events. In the men's floor final, Shatilov scored 15.333, and tied with American Jacob Dalton, but was placed beneath him because Dalton's execution points were higher. In the end, Shatilov placed 6th out of eight athletes.[9]

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. Shatilov is the first Israeli gymnast to win the European Championship.[2]

In May 2016 he won the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Bern, Switzerland.[10] 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.[11]

He competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in his third Olympic Games.[12] 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.[13]

In April 2017, Shatilov won the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He received a 14.400 score.[14]

He will represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[15]

See also

• List of Jewish gymnasts
• Sports in Israel

References

1. "Александр Шатилов не доволен бронзой и надеется на золото" (in Russian). May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
2. "Israeli wins gold in European gymnastics championship". ynet.
3. Shvidler, Eli (August 3, 2011). "Gymnastics world championships: Alexander Shatilov wins Israel's first-ever medal". Haaretz. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. John Crumlish. (9 February 2010). "Shatilov Inspired by 'Athlete of the Year' Award". International Gymnast. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
6. "Alex Shatilov and Yarden Gerbi crowned as Athletes of the Year" (in Hebrew). Walla.co.il. December 29, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
7. Dann, Uzi (August 3, 2011). "Higher and higher". Haaretz. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
8. Haaretz; Press, The Associated (15 October 2016). "Israeli Gymnast Alex Shatilov Wins Bronze at World Championships" – via Haaretz.
9. "Gymnastics Artistic Results – London – Olympic Medals". london2012.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
10. "Pre-Olympic boost as Shatilov wins bronze".
11. "Israeli gymnast Shatilov strikes gold in final Rio warm-up".
12. Turner, Amanda. "'International' Gymnasts at the Olympics".
13. Talshir, Uri; Staff, Haaretz Sports (7 August 2016). "Disappointing Showings for Israeli Olympians in Day One of Rio Games" – via Haaretz.
14. "הישג ישראלי: ארד לאלכס שטילוב בתרגיל הקרקע באליפות אירופה". דבר ראשון (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2018-12-26.

External links

• Alexander Shatilov at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Aleksandr Shatilov at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)