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Jews in Sports: Israel at the 2000 Olympics

(Updated August 2000)

At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, 39 Israeli athletes competed in 9 different sports. It was Israel's 12th time sending a delegation to the Summer Games and was Israel's largest delegation at the time. Michael Kolganoa won Israel's only medal, a bronze in canoeing.


FENCING

Ayelet Ohayon, 26, Foil
Ohayon won a Grand Prix tournament in Paris in April 2000. She is ranked 40th in the world.

 

GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING

Michael Beilin, 24, 63kg Division
Beilin won a silver medal at the World Championships in September 1999.

Cotcha Tsitsiashvili, 26, 85kg Division
Tsitsiashvili was the silver medallist at the 1995 World Championships, and he placed 4th at the 1998 World Championships. He won the bronze medal at the 1996 European Championships, and finished 5th at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Yuri Yevseichik, 27, 130kg Division
Yevseichik was the bronze medallist at the World Championships in 1998.

 

JUDO

Orit Bar-On, 24, Women's 57kg Division
Bar-On finished 7th at the 1999 World Championships in Great Britain. She is coached by Barcelona Silver Medallist Yael Arad.

Gil Ofer, 24, 73kg Division
Ofer is ranked 3rd on the European Circuit.

Arik Zeevi, 23, 100kg Division
Zeevi placed 5th at the World Championships in October 1999. He collected the bronze medal at the 1999 European Championships.

 

KAYAKING

Michael Kalganov, 25, Kayak K1 500m and K1 1000m
Kalganov has twice won the gold medal in the K1 200m race at the World Championships in 1998 and 1999. This is not an Olympic discipline. However, he has also won silver and bronze medals at the last two World Championships in the K1 500m race. At the European Championships in Poland in July 2000, Kalganov won a gold medal in the K1 1000m, and a silver medal in the K1 500m races.

Ro'i Yellin, 19, Kayak K2 500m and K2 1000m (with Rami Tsur)
At last year's European Championships, Yellin finished 6th in the K2 200m and K2 500m races.

Rami Tsur, 23, Kayak K2 500m and K2 1000m (with Ro'i Yellin)
Tsur placed 13th in the K2 500m race in the 1999 World Championships.

Lior Carmi, 24, Kayak K2 200m and K2 500m (with Larissa Pesakhovich) and K1 1000m
Carmi finished 5th in the K1 1000m and 6th in the K1 500m, K2 200m and K2 500m races at the 1999 European Championships. At the 1996 Olympics, she reached the semifinals of the K1 500m event. She placed 6th in the K2 500m race in the European Kayaking Championships in Poland in July 2000.

Larissa Pesakhovich, 27, Kayak K2 200m and K2 500m (with Lior Carmi)
Pesakhovich finished 6th in last year's European Championships in the K2 200m and 500m events. She placed 6th in the K2 500m race in the European Kayaking Championships in Poland in July 2000.

 

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

Or Tokayev, 20, Rhythmic Gymnastics
Tokayev finished 7th in the ribbon event at the World Championships in October 1999, and 14th overall.

 

SAILING

Shani Kedmi, 23, and Anat Fabrikant, 24, Women's Double-Handed Dinghy 470
Kedmi and Fabrikant placed 4th at both the European and World Championships in 1999

Eli Zuckerman, 27, and Elad Ronen, 24, Men's Double-Handed Dinghy 470
Zuckerman and Ronen finished 9th at the 1999 World Championships.

Amit Inbar, 28, Windsurfing Mistral Class
Inbar won the gold medal at the 1998 European Championships, and the silver medal at the European Championships of May 2000. He placed 4th at the World Championships this year.

Michal Hein, 32, Windsurfing Mistral Class (women)
Hein finished 10th at the World Championships in February 2000.

 

SHOOTING

Alexander Danilov, 30, Pistol
Danilov won the gold medal at the European Championships in Germany in 1999.

Guy Starek, 35, Free Rifle
Starek placed 7th at the 1995 World Championships, and 4th at the 1998 World Championships.

SWIMMING

Vered Borochovsky, 16, 100m Butterfly, 200m Individual Medley
Borochovsky placed 8th in the finals of the 100m butterfly at the European Swimming Championships in July 2000, with a new Israeli record of 1:00.44 minutes. She also placed 6th in the 200m medley with a time of 2:19.52 minutes.

Adi Bichman, 17, 800m Freestyle, 400m Individual Medley
Bichman placed 5th at the European Swimming Championships in July 2000, with a new Israeli record of 8:47.59 minutes.

Yoav Gat, 19, 200m Backstroke
Gat won the bronze medal at the European Swimming Championships in July 2000 with an Israeli record of 2:00.02 minutes.

Yoav Bruck, 28, 50m and 100m Freestyle, 4x100m Freestyle, 4x100m Medley
Bruck was a member of the Israeli 4x100m medley relay team which reached the Olympic final in Atlantic in 1996. In 1999, he finished 8th at the European Championships. At the European Championships in Helsinki in July 2000, the medley relay team came 8th with a time of 3:43.48 minutes. Bruck holds the Israeli record for the 50m freestyle of 22.79 seconds.

Eytan Urbach, 23, 100m Backstroke, 4x100m Freestyle, 4x100m Medley
Urbach won the silver medal in the European Championships in 1998, and the bronze medal in the same competition in 1999. He was a member of the 4x100m medley relay team which reached the Olympic final in Atlanta in 1996. At the European Championships in Helsinki in July 2000, the medley relay team came 8th with a time of 3:43.48 minutes. Urbach holds the national record for the 100m backstroke: 55.62 seconds.

Mickey Halika, 21, 200m and 400m Individual Medley
Halika won the bronze medal at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships earlier this year. In 1999, he won the silver medal at the European Championships. He placed 4th at the European Championships in July 2000. His personal best: 4:17.49 minutes.

Tal Stricker, 21, 100m and 200m Breaststroke, 4x100m medley
At the European Championships in Helsinki in July 2000, Stricker was part of the 4x100m medley relay team which came 8th with a time of 3:43.48 minutes.

Yoav Meiri, 25, 100m and 200m butterfly, 4x100m Medley
At the European Championships in Helsinki in July 2000, Meiri was part of the 4x100m medley relay team which came 8th with a time of 3:43.48 minutes.

Oren Azrad, 21, and Alexei Manziola, 20, 4x100m Freestyle

 

TRACK AND FIELD

Alex Averbach, 25, Pole Vault
At the Israel Athletic Championships in July 2000, Averbach broke the Israeli pole vault record again with a jump of 5.85m. He won the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships in Seville in 1999, with a jump of 5.80m, becoming the first Israeli medal-winner in a World Athletics Championships. Earlier this year, he won the gold medal at the European Indoor Championships in Belgium.

Danny Krasnov, 30, Pole Vault
Krasnov has reached the last two Olympic finals, as well as the last two World Athletics Championship finals. His personal best is 5.75m. Placed 8th at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Krasnov remains the only Israeli male athlete to reach an Olympic track and field final.

Konstantin Matusevich, 29, High Jump
Matusevich's personal best is 2.36m, recorded recently in Australia. He placed 7th at the World Championships in Athens in 1997.

Rogel Nahum, 33, Triple Jump
With a personal best of 17.20m, Nahum has twice reached the finals of the World Athletics Championships. He placed 4th at the 1998 European Championships. At a competition in Cyprus in July 2000, he jumped 16.98m.

Tommy Kafri, 23, 100m, 4x100m Relay
Kafri's personal best for the 100m is 10.23 seconds. He was a member of the Israeli 4x100m relay team that finished 9th at the 1999 World Athletics Championships.

Alex Porkhomovsky, 28, 100m, 4x100m Relay
Porkhomovsky holds the national record for the 100m with a time of 10.13 seconds. He was a member of the Israeli 4x100m relay team that finished 9th at the 1999 World Athletics Championships.

Kfir Golan, 26, 4x100m Relay
Golan was a member of the Israeli 4x100m relay team that finished 9th at the 1999 World Athletics Championships.

Gidon Yablonka, 22, 200m, 4x100m Relay
Yablonka was a member of the Israeli 4x100m relay team that finished 9th at the 1999 World Athletics Championships. His personal best for the 100m is 10.29 seconds, set at the Israel Athletics Championships in July 2000.

Mickey Bar Yehoshua, 29, 4x100m Relay
Bar Yehoshua is the fifth runner to qualify for Sydney, with 10.60 seconds achieved for the 100m at the Israel Athletics Championships in July 2000.


Sources: Olympic Committee of Israel; Wikipedia