Gymnastics: Artem Dolgopyat wins Israel's first ever medal at Olympics

Artem Dolgopyat won Israel’s first-ever Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. Dolgopyat captured gold in the men’s floor exercise by edging Rayderley Zapata of Spain on a tiebreak.

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel in action.

Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won the men's individual floor exercise by a whisker on Sunday, edging Spain's Rayderley Zapata after both posted the same score to win his country's first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.

Dolgopyat, twice a world silver medallist in the same event, posted a score of 14.933, the same as Zapata. But the Israeli took the top spot on the podium because his routine had a higher degree of difficulty.

China's Xiao Ruoteng took the bronze for his third medal in the Tokyo Games.

RELATED: Tokyo 2020: Simone Biles pulls out of individual floor exercise

In the first apparatus final, hot favourite Nikita Nagornyy, the first to compete, saw his medal chances evaporate when he stumbled out of bounds on his opening tumbling pass. That left the Russian Olympic Committee athlete well out of contention on a mark of 13.066.

The competition was once again missing its star attraction as American Simone Biles scratched from both the uneven bar and vault finals.

Biles has not been seen in competition since dropping out of the team event on Tuesday after just one vault saying later that she was wrestling with mental health issues and a crisis of confidence.

The 24-year-old American is the reigning Olympic and world champion on the vault.