Israeli athletes are going for gold

SIMON GRIVER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Israel's Olympic squad will travel to Athens in August, confident of bringing home the country's first-ever gold medal. The squad will be smaller than the 40 participants who represented Israel in Sydney four years ago – probably around 35 sportsmen and women. But, according to Rakefet Weintraub, spokesperson for the Israel Olympic Committee, this is the best quality squad that Israel has ever sent to the Olympics.

"We have half a dozen representatives who are capable of winning gold," she explained, "and expect 30 per cent of the squad to reach their respective finals and to win several medals."

Candidates for gold include Alex Averbukh in the pole vault. The 29-year-old new immigrant from Russia has won bronze and silver medals in the 1999 and 2001 World Championships and, in 2002, took the gold medal in the European Championships. His personal record is 5.93 metres. But pole vaulting is the most inconsistent of sports and on a bad day even the most outstanding athletes can struggle. At the Sydney Olympics, Averbukh failed to make the final and it was the same story last summer for Averbukh at the World Championships.

With this in mind, Arik Ze'evi may be a better bet for gold. The 27-year-old judoka, who has been chosen to carry the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony on Aug. 13, has won the gold medal in the European Judo Championships' under 100 kilogram category three times in the past four years. In Sydney, Ze'evi finished a disappointing fifth – he is eager to lower expectations prior to Athens.

"Of course I have a chance of gold," he said. "But there are five other fighters who are as good as me and who can beat me on the day, so I could just as easily come home empty-handed."

A second Israeli candidate for a medal in judo is Yoel Rozbozov. The 24-year-old unexpectedly won silver in the under 73 kilogram competition in the European Judo Championships in Romania in May.

Indeed, judo has traditionally been Israel's strongest Olympic sport. The first two medals that Israel ever won came in 1992 at Barcelona when Yael Arad won the silver medal in the women's under 61 kilogram category and Oren Smadja took bronze in the under 73 men's competition.

Israel has competed in every Olympics since the Helsinki games in 1952. Prior to its first medals in 1992, the only time that the country ever grabbed the Olympic headlines was in 1972, in Munich, when 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Despite the tragedy, Israel remained loyal to the Olympic ideal and returned to the 1976 games in Montreal, where Esther Roth took sixth place in the 100 metres hurdles.

After judo, water sports has been Israel's strongest suit and in Seoul, in 1988, Yoel Sela and Eldad Amir took fourth place in the 470 Flying Dutchman sailing competition and would surely have won a medal if they had not forfeited a race for not sailing on Yom Kippur.

Israel's other two medals were both won in water sports. Gal Friedman won the bronze medal in the Mistral class of windsurfing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, while Michael Kalganov took the bronze in Sydney in the 1,000 metres kayak competition. Kalganov, 29, has dipped in form in the past four years and is unlikely to be in the medal frame in the singles event. But in the doubles with Roi Yellin, the Israelis are considered medal contenders. In the Flying Dutchmen 470 sailing competition, both the male duo of Gidi Klieger and Udi Gal, and the female pairing of Vered Busquila and Nikita Kornichki, who recently won the bronze medal in the European Championships, are medal material.

Friedman, now 29, is a strong candidate for a windsurfing medal, having won the bronze medal in the World Surfing Championships last September. An even more serious contender for an Israeli gold is Lee Korsitz. She took the gold medal in the World Surfing Championships last September at just 19 years of age, becoming the country's first-ever female world champion.

Other medal prospects include Gotcha Tzitziashvilli. Born in Georgia in the former Soviet Union, the 30-year-old is a former silver medalist in the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships who finished fifth in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the under 85 kilogram class. Other Greco-Roman wrestlers – Yuri Yevseichik in the 130 kilogram category and Yaakov Menasharov in the under 100 kilogram category, both Russian-speaking new immigrants – could also finish in the medal frame.

In tennis, Minsk-born Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, who ranks 16 in the world standings, is the highest ever ranked Israeli tennis player and has the potential to win a medal. So, too, do men's doubles specialists Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich, who last year reached the Wimbledon semi-finals. But confusion surrounding the Olympic qualifying criteria could deny the pair a place in Greece.

In swimming, Vered Borochovsky can be expected to reach the women's 100 metres butterfly final. In shooting, both Alexander Danilov and Guy Starik should reach their finals.

Nearly one half of the Israeli squad are new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and Athens will also see Israel's first Ethiopian-born representatives, with marathon runners Setain Ayalla and Assaf Bimro both participating in the men's event, but not expected to finish in the first 30.

"There is a lot of money at stake for Olympic medal winners," explained Weintraub. "We will be giving $55,000 to gold medal winners and the Ministry of Education and Sport will award a matching sum. Silver medal winners will receive $30,000 dollars from the committee and the ministry, and bronze medal winners $20,000. And that's just the start. Any Israeli medal winner will receive national celebrity status, and sponsorship and advertising deals could net them a fortune."

With Israel fielding a strong team and the convenience of the Games taking place so close to home, Israelis are hopeful that their athletes will return home with at least two silver medals.

Simon Griver is with Israel Press Service.

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