HERETOK WE YOCOME! SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ISRAEL'S DELEGATION TO TOKYO (updated as of July 11, 2020 and listed alphabetically by sport) 89 competitors (54 men and 35 women) in 15 sports ARCHERY GYMNASTICS Itay Shanny – Men’s Individual Artistic Men’s All-Around ARTISTIC SWIMMING Artem Dolgopyat Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky – Duet Alexander Shatilov Women’s All-Around ATHLETICS Lihie Raz • Men’s Marathon Rhythmic Haimro Alame Women’s Individual Girmaw Amare Linoy Ashram FEED THE Marhu Teferi Nicol Zelikman • Women’s 100m Israel National Team Diana Vaisman Yuliana Telegin LIGHT: LET THE • Women’s 3000m steeplechase Yana Kramarenko Adva Cohen Ofir Dayan • Women’s 5,000m and 10,000m Natalie Raits OLYMPIC SPIRIT Selamawit Dagnachew Karin Vexman Lonah Chemtai Salpeter • Women’s Marathon JUDO Maor Tiyouri MOVE YOU Men • Women’s Triple Jump Baruch Shmailov -66 kg FLAG BEARER Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko xcitement is building for the Olympics, which Tohar Butbul -73 kg Sagi Muki -81 kg are set to begin in Tokyo on July 23. BADMINTON It's fun to root for our homegrown Misha Zilberman – Men’s Singles Li Kochman -90 kg Ksenia Polikarpova – Women’s Singles Peter Paltchik -100 kg athletes. We have our country, our heritage in Ori Sasson +100 kg common; it's only natural to cheer them on. BASEBALL Women No fans from foreign soil will be allowed at National Team Shira Rishony -48 kg Ethe Tokyo Games, a measure necessitated by the continuing Gili Cohen -52 kg Pitchers threat of the coronavirus. Jeremy Bleich Timna Nelson-Levy -57 Jonathan de Marte Gili Sharir -63 kg That's OK. In fact, in some ways, it might be a good thing. Jake Fishman Inbar Lanir -78 kg Sometimes, in our patriotic fervor, we forget to simply Alex Katz Raz Hershko +78 kg appreciate the beauty and excellence of the competitions Jared Lakind and the achievements of the athletes. Alon Leichman SAILING Shlomo Lipetz Yoav Cohen – Men’s RS:X The Tokyo Games, therefore, are a unique opportunity Jon Moscot Katy Spychakov – Women’s RS:X to bring the world closer together, to increase our Joey Wagman Shay Kakon – Women’s Laser Radial understanding of folks who live in countries spread across Ben Wanger Noya Baram and Shahar Tibi – Women’s 470 the globe. Zack Weiss You might even find yourself rooting at some points Josh Zeid SHOOTING for athletes from other countries. After all, only a small Catchers Sergey Richter – Men’s 10m Air Rifle Tal Erel percentage of the 11,091 who are expected to compete in Ryan Lavarnway SURFING 33 sports at the Summer Games will represent your country Nick Rickles Anat Lelior – Women’s Shortboard of origin, residence and/or citizenship. Infielders Through media covering the Games, we'll learn of Scott Burcham SWIMMING the extraordinary lives led by these athletes. Many have Mitch Glasser Men Ty Kelly Meiron Cheruti – 50m freestyle overcome stubborn obstacles to excel and reach the highest Ian Kinsler Michael Laitarovsky – 100m backstroke level of sports. Zach Penprase FLAG BEARER Yakov Toumarkin – 100m backstroke When we hear their stories, it always reminds us that Danny Valencia Tomer Frankel – 100m butterfly we have so much in common and that good triumphs in Outfielders Gal Cohen Groumi – 100m butterfly and Blake Gailen every corner of the world. 200m individual medley Assaf Lowengart Salute those triumphs, on the field of play and off of it, Ron Polonsky – 200m individual medley Robb Paller Denis Loktev – 200m freestyle as you hunker down in the front of your screen of choice Manager to watch the Games or highlights. Eric Holtz Matan Roditi – 10 km open water Daniel Namir – 4×200 m freestyle relay When you recognize that greatness and perseverance CYCLING Women isn't limited by national boundaries, you are truly helping Omer Shapira – Women’s Road Race and Andrea Murez – 100m freestyle feed the light for a better world. • Time Trial Anastasia Gorbenko – 100m backstroke, 100m (Herald Bulletin/TNS) Shlomi Haimy – Men’s Cross-Country breaststroke and 200m individual medley Mountain Biking Aviv Barzelay – 200m backstroke Mixed Photo credits: Olympic Committee of Israel (pages EQUESTRIAN Itay Goldfaden – 4×100m medley relay 4-5, 30, Herbalife (18-21), Israel Baseball Association Individual and Team (22-25), ISN (30-31), Reuters (Cover, 8, 10, 12, 16- TaeKWONDO Ashlee Bond (riding Donatello) 17, 26-27, 33, 35-38, 40--41, 43-47) and Courtesy. Alberto Michán (riding Cosa Nostra) Avishag Semberg – Women’s -49kg Teddy Vlock (riding Amsterdam) All advertising in this publication is the responsibility of the respective advertisers Danielle "Dani G" Waldman (riding TRIATHLON themselves and all the articles and pictures are the responsibility of the writers Queensland) Ran Sagiv and editors of the publication. The Olympic Committee of Israel bears no liability Israel National Team – team competition Shachar Sagiv or responsibility for the content herein. Editor URIEL STURM | Commercial RINA GALMOR | Designer NOA ZOLTY 3 A PRESIDENTIAL By GREER FAY CASHMAN hat a joy to meet Isaac Herzog on July 7, there was no other time people who are for the meeting while he was still president. not politicians,” Beneath the pergola leading into the main exclaimed a radiant hall were numerous enlarged photographs President Reuven of individual athletes and groups of athletes Rivlin, as he looked engaged in different sports, mounted on tall Wout at the overflowing crowd of athletes in stands. It was almost like an open-air Sports the main hall of the President’s Residence. Hall of Fame. Then he remembered that there was one Among the dignitaries who came to the politician in the room – Culture and Sport President’s Residence were Ilana Romano and Minister Chili Tropper. Anki Spitzer, the widows of Yossef Romano As Rivlin was handing over the reins to and Andre Spitzer, members of the Israel 4 Olympic team who were murdered by All the speakers praised the athletes for experienced by every competitive athlete, Black September terrorists in the Munich their dedication, their constant aspiration Rivlin had particularly warm words for the Massacre at the 1972 Olympics; and to do better and their ability to train and Paralympic athletes, for whom competition Japanese Ambassador Koichi Mizushima, improve during the worst period of the is more difficult, he said, because they are who has been hop-scotching from one pandemic. also challenged by their particular disability. Olympics-related event to another. ”You worked so hard to get to this point,” Some of the members of the Olympic Also present were Igal Carmi, chairman said Rivlin, who conceded that his favorite team are competing for the second, third of the Israel Olympic Committee, and sport is a ball game – “not tennis” he and fourth times. Yehoshua Dekel, national president of the clarified. But there are also sports in which Israel National Paralympic Committee. Then, resorting to the vernacular, he said: has not competed before, such as archery. Carmi said that this year’s delegation “The ball is in your court“. Itay Shanny, 22, will be making history as will be the largest ever to represent Israel, He reminded the members of the teams the first archer competing for Israel since and although it had not yet reached 90 that they had been chosen because they it began participating in the Olympics athletes, he was optimistic this figure would are the best of the best, “the very few who in Helsinki in 1952, at which time the be attained. have managed to get so high, to be the delegation included 22 male athletes and The Paralympic Games will be held two emissaries of our country at the greatest, three female, who participated in a total of weeks after the start of the Olympics, and oldest and most important of international five different sports. There’s been a lot of Dekel was confident that several of the 28 sporting competitions” which began in progress since then, not only in terms of athletes in the delegation would come home ancient Greece. overall numbers, but also in gender ratios with medals. Aware of the strain and tension and in the variety of sports. • 5 FAST faCTS AS ISRAEL GEARS UP FOR TOKYO By ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN srael brought home two bronze 1952 and the Rio Games in 2016, except the medals – both in judo – from the 1980 Moscow Games. 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Israel began participating in the Winter Will more Israeli athletes ascend Olympics in 1994. the winners’ podium this summer in Tokyo? THE MEDALS WE’VE WON That’s the big question as Israel prepares to 2. Israel has won nine Summer Olympics send its largest-ever Olympic delegation of medals: Yael Arad (silver, judo, 1992), Oren 89 athletes to the 2020 Summer Olympics. Smadja (bronze, judo, 1992); Gal Fridman Here are some fun facts about Israel’s (bronze, sailing, 1996); Michael Kolganov participation in the world’s ultimate sports (bronze, canoeing, 2000); Ariel Ze’evi (bronze, festival: judo, 2004), Gal Fridman (gold, sailing, 2004); Shahar Zubari (bronze, sailing, 2008), Yarden COLLECTor’S ITEM THIS IS ISRAEL’S Gerbi (bronze, judo, 2016) and Ori Sasson Three postage stamps were issued by 17TH SUMMER OLYMPICS 5. 1. (bronze, judo, 2016). the Israel Stamp Service in celebration of Israel has participated in every Summer the Tokyo Olympics. Designed by Baruch NEW SPORTS Olympics between the Helsinki Games in Na’a, each stamp features one Olympic sport: 3. This year, Israeli Olympians will swimming, horseback riding and gymnastics. compete for the first time in baseball, archery, The athletes are drawn in between two blue surfing and equestrian. wavy lines to symbolize the national flag. A faMILY affaIR STAR OF DaVID INSPIRATION 4.