1957 Maccabiah Games

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maccabiah Games
Games of the V Maccabiah

Opening city Ramat Gan, Israel
Nations participating 20
Athletes participating 980
Events
Opening ceremony
Closing ceremony
Officially opened by Yitzhak Ben Zvi
Stadium Ramat Gan Stadium

Twenty countries sent 980 athletes to the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics.

The presence of a large number of world-class Jewish athletes elevated the quality of competition. Plans were set to build a Maccabiah Village to house athletes for Games of the future.

Mexico sent its first contingent of athletes.

In boxing, Abraham Rozenberg, a concentration camp survivor, won the heavyweight division gold medal for the second Games in a row. Rozenberg fighting for France lived to that time in Germany, but Germany didn't have a team in that maccabiah, so Rozenberg fought for France.

Ben Helfgott, a concentration camp survivor, won the weightlifting gold medal in the lightweight class for Great Britain for the second Games in a row. Abie Grossfeld of the United States dominated the Games, winning 7 golds in 7 gymnastics events: AA, R, PH, FX, HB, PB, & V.

Angela Buxton of Great Britain, who the year prior had won the doubles title at Wimbledon, won the gold medal in women's singles.

In fencing, Byron Krieger, 2-time Pan American Games gold medal winner, won individual GOLD in SABRE and individual BRONZE in FOIL.

In weightlifting, Isaac Berger became the first athlete to establish a world record in the State of Israel, pressing 258 pounds (117 kg) in Featherweight competition for the US, a year after winning an Olympic gold medal.

Ben Helfgott, a concentration camp survivor, won the weightlifting gold medal in the lightweight class for Great Britain for the third Games in a row.

[edit] Participating communities

The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.

[edit] Link