Matvei Petrov

Matvei Petrov
Petrov at the 2015 European Championships.
Personal information
Full nameMatvei Sergeyevich Petrov
Alternative name(s)Matvey Petrov
Country represented Albania (2018–present)
Former countries represented Russia (until 2018)
Born (1990-07-16) 16 July 1990 (age 34)
Seltso, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
HometownKaliningrad, Russia
ResidencePrague, Czech Republic
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Head coach(es)Alon Hasa
Medal record
Artistic gymnastics
Representing  Albania
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Mersin Pommel horse
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
FIG World Challenge Cup 4 1 2
Representing  Russia
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
FIG World Cup 0 0 1

Matvei Sergeyevich Petrov (Russian: Матвей Сергеевич Петров; born 16 July 1990) is a Russian-born Albanian artistic gymnast. He is the 2020 European Champion on the pommel horse, and he is Albania's first European medalist.[1][2] He represented Albania at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was the first reserve for the pommel horse final after finishing tenth in the qualification round.

Early life

Petrov was born on 16 July 1990 in the small town Seltso, but his family moved to Kaliningrad after he was born.[2]

Career

Representing Russia (2006–2016)

Petrov competed at the 2006 Junior European Championships and won three medals. He helped the Russian team win the silver medal three-tenths of a point behind Germany. He also won the silver medal on the pommel horse behind British gymnast Louis Smith, and he won the bronze medal on the horizontal bar.[3] He then won three more medals at the 2008 Junior European Championships. The Russian team won the silver medal behind Great Britain.[4] Individually, Petrov won another silver medal on the pommel horse behind Daniel Keatings, and he won the bronze medal on the still rings.[5]

At the 2010 Russian Championships, Petrov won the gold medal on the pommel horse and the bronze medal with the Central Federal District team.[6] Then at the 2010 Cottbus World Cup, he won the bronze medal on the pommel horse behind Sašo Bertoncelj and Koki Sakamoto.[7]

At the 2013 European Championships, Petrov finished thirteenth on the pommel horse in the qualification round.[8] He was selected to compete at the 2013 World Championships, and he qualified for the pommel horse event final where he finished seventh.[9] At the 2015 European Championships, he finished eighth in the pommel horse final.[10]

Nationality change

Petrov initially retired from gymnastics after not being selected for the 2016 Russian Olympic team. He then moved to Prague to work as a coach, but he began training again in his spare time. The director of the gym he was working at, Alon Hasa, is Albanian, and he began coaching Petrov as well. The Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia approved Petrov's switch to Albania, and he began competing for Albania in 2018.[11][2]

Representing Albania (2018–present)

Petrov made his debut for Albania at the 2018 Grand Prix of Brno, a mixed-pairs team competition where he won the gold medal with Dutch teammate Neto Tanishaley.[11] At the 2018 Voronin Cup in Moscow, he won the bronze medal on the pommel horse.[12] He only competed on the pommel horse at the 2019 European Championships and finished thirtieth in the qualification round.[13] Then he competed in the all-around at the 2019 World Championships and finished ninety-seventh with a total score of 75.656 and did not qualify for any finals.[14]

In October 2020, Petrov competed at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup and won the bronze medal on the pommel horse behind Nariman Kurbanov and Robert Seligman, and he finished sixth on the parallel bars.[15] Then in December, he won the gold medal on the pommel horse at the 2020 European Championships with a score of 14.566.[16] This is Albania's first medal as well as the first gold medal at the European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[1][2]

At the 2021 European Championships in Basel, Petrov finished twentieth on the pommel horse in the qualification round and did not qualify for the final.[17] Then at the 2021 Varna World Challenge Cup, he finished seventh in the pommel horse final.[18] He then won the gold medal on the pommel horse at the 2021 Osijek World Challenge Cup.[19] Then at the Doha World Cup, he finished eighth in the pommel horse final.[20] Petrov received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games.[21] He only competed on the pommel horse where he finished tenth in the qualification round with a score of 14.733 which made him the first reserve for the event final.[22] After the Olympics, he competed at the Koper World Challenge Cup and won the gold medal on the pommel horse after winning the execution score tie-breaker over Illia Kovtun.[23][24]

He represented Albania at the 2022 Mediterranean Games held in Oran, Algeria.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b Goh, ZK (13 December 2020). "Turkey claim rings and parallel bars European titles on home soil". Olympic Channel. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Crumlish, John (25 December 2020). "Albania's Petrov: 'In The Final, Everything Was Different'". International Gymnast Online. International Gymnast Media. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ^ "27th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships" (PDF). European Gymnastics. pp. 9–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "28th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. ^ "28th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships Men's Juniors Apparatus Finals" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Чемпионат России по спортивной гимнастике" [Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships] (PDF). Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia (in Russian). Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  7. ^ "34th International Turnier der Meister Artistic Gymnastics FIG World Cup Cottbus (GER)". Gymnastics Results. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  8. ^ "5th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Men's Qualifications" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  9. ^ "44th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp (BEL) Men's Apparatus Final" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 5 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  10. ^ "6th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Men's Apparatus Finals" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 18 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Matvei Petrov: 'This Is How My Albanian Story Started'". International Gymnast Magazine Online. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  12. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (16 December 2018). "2018 Voronin Cup Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  13. ^ "8th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Men Artistic Gymnastics Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Championships. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ^ "49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Stuttgart (GER), 4 October – 13 October 2019 Men's All-Around Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  15. ^ "FIG World Challenge Cup Szombathely (HUN) 2020 Oct 2–4" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ^ "34th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships Men Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  17. ^ "9th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Men Artistic Gymnastics Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Varna World Challenge Cup Varna, Bulgaria 2021 May 27–30". Gymnastics Results. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Double gold for Derwael in her re-emergence at Osijek World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  20. ^ "FIG World Cup Aspire Dome, Doha (QAT) 2021 June 23–26" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  21. ^ "List of the Artistic Gymnastics Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 27 June 2021. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Men's Pommel Horse Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Olympic Committee. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Olympic veterans, rising stars are class of the field at Koper World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  24. ^ Lloyd, Owen (5 September 2021). "Kysselef crowned vault champion in Koper at 2021 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup". Inside the Games. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Results Book" (PDF). 2022 Mediterranean Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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