Dolgopyat has been out of action since his Floor Exercise victory in Tokyo but will make his long-awaited return to the mat in Cottbus refreshed and ready to expand his repertoire.
The artistic tumbler was only 12 years old when his family left Ukraine for Israel, where his love for gymnastics grew far beyond his early struggles with Hebrew.
His father, an ex-gymnast himself, had introduced the sport and all its intricacies to Dolgopyat as a child, but not even he could predict what his son would accomplish.
At the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games last year, Dolgopyat became only the second person to win a gold medal for Israel, having produced a floor performance his contemporaries could not match.
“2021 was everything for me,” Dolgopyat said, as quoted by the Federation International de Gymnastique.
“I began the year very well prepared, and then nothing worked, the pressure and difficulties mounted.
“But I continued to work hard and believe. I have been blessed to have an incredible group of people around me who support me in the difficult moments and in all the good moments.
“This year, I got to fulfil a childhood dream.”
Now aged 24, Dolgopyat hopes he can become an all-around gymnast by the time the Paris Games commence and has the backing of coach Sergei Weissberg.
“Artem has plenty of room to improve,” Weissberg said. “He can work other disciplines and master those.”
The first of those, however, will be the familiar Floor Exercise this weekend, and SBS On Demand will have all the action from the World Cup Series available on replay.
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How to watch FIG Gymnastics on SBS
Artistic Gymnastics Individual Apparatus World Cup Series
Germany: February 26 - 27
Qatar: March 4 - 5
Egypt: March 19 - 20
Azerbaijan: April 2 - 3
Full replay available the following morning via SBS On Demand
