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U.S. Air Force second lieutenant Patrick Hoopes won bronze in pommel horse at the World Gymnastics Championships in Indonesia last week. It was a lifelong dream that he had been working toward, alongside his military service contributions, since he began the sport at just two years old.
“It was so amazing. There’s kind of three big things a gymnast growing up in the U.S. wants to compete in; U.S. championships, the Olympics and then World Championships. So it was kind of a big dream come true,” Hoopes told Fox News Digital.
“I remember the whole time thinking there were a couple of small errors that I could feel already, that I know I did, but when I made it through the whole routine, I came down, saluted the judges, hit routine, and was really excited… when the final competitor went, and I saw that I was third I was just like ‘this is wild.’ World medalist is a title that I didn’t think I’d get growing up.”
But it wasn’t all win in Indonesia.
Throughout the week, Hoopes had learned of a controversial situation that overshadowed the competition across the world.
The host nation’s government denied visas to all of Team Israel’s athletes, barring them from competing. The Indonesian government cited safety concerns amid potential protests by locals and the war in Gaza for barring the Israeli gymnasts.
“A lot of people were, I don’t know if they were upset, but they were pretty bummed that Israel wasn’t going to be there. I mean, everyone there understands the work that they’ve put in to get to that point and be able to show up at World Championships, and an athlete from any country being denied that for reasons outside of their control is always a pretty disappointing story to hear,” Hoopes said.
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Indonesia’s denial of visas to the Israelis sparked international backlash, as the International Olympic Committee even stepped in to condemn the decision in a statement, and later ended all discussion with the country over hosting a future Olympics. The IOC also recommended that no international sporting events be held in Indonesia.
Indonesian Minister of Sport Erick Thohir defended his country’s decision last week, saying: “We adhere to the principle of maintaining security, public order and the public interest in hosting every international event.”
Hoopes empathized with the Israeli gymnasts and expressed his support for them and the work they put in for the competition.
“For the athletes themselves that aren’t directly working with what’s happening in that side of their country, for them to be punished for what was going on, especially after putting all that work into their training and trying to be ready for this competition. I know if that were to happen to me, if it was a week before, and I’d been training and putting in all this effort and getting ready, and for that opportunity to be taken away, I think it’s just like, very very sad,” Hoopes said.
“It’s just a sad thing that these athletes didn’t get the chance to show out.”
Hoopes hopes to compete alongside Team Israel gymnasts at the Los Angles Olympics in 2028, as he turns his attention to accomplishing that next goal in between his military service, the World Military Games in North Carolina in 2027, and the next World Championships in coming years.
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