Israeli Gymnast Alexei Miakinin Aims for European Championship Comeback After Knee Injury

Alexei Miakinin, a 31-year-old gymnast representing Maccabi Tel Aviv, is preparing for a fitness test this Friday to determine if he will join Israel's team for the European Gymnastics Championship in Zagreb next month. Miakinin, who won a bronze medal on the horizontal bar at the 2020 European Championships, has been recovering from a severe ACL injury that sidelined him for nearly a year and caused him to miss seven consecutive continental championships. The injury occurred during training at a previous European Championship in Germany when he missed the bar and landed on one leg, immediately realizing the severity of the damage.

After surgery by Dr. Guy Morag and extensive rehabilitation, Miakinin competed at the Maccabiah Games in late June and is now focused on proving his readiness for the European Championship. Although the national team coach Sergey Weisburg told him his chances of making the final squad are slim, Miakinin is determined to push himself and challenge younger gymnasts ahead of the World Championships in October. He remains hopeful about qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, despite the difficulty of securing a spot through World Cup events, especially given his history of five knee surgeries.

Born in Russia, Miakinin’s path to representing Israel began when he was 18 and realized he would not make Russia’s strong national team. Encouraged by a coach familiar with Israeli gymnastics, he started the process of immigration after connecting with Weisburg during an Israeli team camp in Moscow. His injury initially made him consider giving up on moving to Israel, but after nearly a year of recovery and university studies in physical education, he resumed the process and eventually immigrated.

Miakinin recalls his early days in Israel with surprise at the climate and lifestyle differences from Moscow but quickly fell in love with the Hebrew language and culture. By 2017, he was training under Weisburg in Tel Aviv and within a year was competing internationally for Israel. Supported by Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Olympic Committee, the High Performance Unit, and the Gymnastics Federation, Miakinin continues to pursue his athletic ambitions despite past setbacks.