Israel at the Olympics
| Israel at the Olympic Games | ||||||||||||
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Israel has competed at the Olympic Games as a nation since 1952. Its National Olympic Committee was formed in 1933 during the British Mandate of Palestine.[1] As the team represented the Jewish community, it boycotted the 1936 Games in Germany in protest of the Nazi Party's anti-Semitic policies.[2]
Israel has sent a team to each Summer Olympic Games since 1952 (except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics) and to each Winter Olympic Games since 1994.
In 1972, 11 members of the Israeli delegation were murdered by members of Black September Palestinian terrorist group.[3]
History
In 1933 the British Mandate of Palestine Olympic Committee (PNOC) was officially formed, and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in May 1934,[4] despite never competing.[1] Although the PNOC represented Jews, Christians and Muslims their rules stated that they "represent the Jewish National Home."[1]
Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 instead of joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees.[5]
Competing
Israel won its first Olympic medal in its tenth Olympic appearance, in 1992, in Judoka when Yael Arad won a silver metal.[6] She was followed a day later by another judoka, Oren Smadja, who won bronze.[7] Since then, Israel won at least one medal in five successive Summer Olympics until the streak ended in 2012. In 2004, Gal Fridman became Israel's first and only gold medallist in men's windsurfing.[8] This was his second medal, following his bronze in 1996,[8] and he is the only multi-medallist.
Israel has been more successful at the Paralympic Games than at the Olympics, with 380 medals between 1960 and 2012.[9]
Competing verse Iran
The government of Iran has taken steps to avoid any competition between its athletes and those from Israel. An Iranian judoka, Arash Miresmaeili, did not compete in a match against Israeli Ehud Vaks during the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was officially disqualified for being overweight, however Miresmaeli was awarded US$125,000 in prize money by the Iranian government, an amount paid to all Iranian gold medal winners. The International Judo Federation conducted an investigation to see if he intentionally missed weight to miss the bought. He was officially cleared of intentionally avoiding the bout, but his receipt of the prize money raised suspicion.[10]
1936 Boycott
Individual Jewish athletes from a number of countries chose to boycott the Berlin Olympics. In the United States, the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Labor Committee supported a boycott.[2]
List of medalists
| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Silver[6] | Arad, YaelYael Arad |  1992 Barcelona |  Judo | Women's half middleweight |
 Bronze[7] | Smadja, OrenOren Smadja | 1992 Barcelona | Judo | Men's lightweight |
| Bronze[8] | Fridman, GalGal Fridman |  1996 Atlanta |  Sailing | Men's sailboard |
| Bronze[11] | Kolganov, MichaelMichael Kolganov |  2000 Sydney | _pictogram.svg.png){kind=small} Canoeing | Men's K-1 500 metres |
| Bronze[12] | Zeevi, ArielAriel Zeevi |  2004 Athens | Judo | Men's half heavyweight |
 Gold[8] | Fridman, GalGal Fridman | 2004 Athens | Sailing | Men's sailboard |
| Bronze[13] | Tzuberi, ShaharShahar Tzuberi |  2008 Beijing | Sailing | Men's sailboard |
Medal tables
Medals by Games
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Barcelona | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1996 Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 Sydney | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 Athens | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2008 Beijing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
Medals by sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sailing | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Judo | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Canoeing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
Olympic participants
320 athletes were members of the Israeli Olympic delegation, though six of them didn't actually take part in competitions.
Athletes by sports:
| Sport | Athletes | Games | Years[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Olympics | |||
| Athletics | 49 | 14 | 1952–1984, 1992–2012 |
| Swimming[15] | 44 | 15 | 1952–2012 |
| Football | 35 | 2 | 1968, 1976 |
| Gymnastics[16] | 31 | 9 | 1960, 1976–1992, 2000–2012 |
| Sailing | 31 | 10 | 1972–2012 |
| Shooting | 26 | 14 | 1952, 1960–2012 |
| Judo | 18 | 8 | 1976–1984, 1992–2012 |
| Wrestling | 14 | 7 | 1972–1976, 1988–2004 |
| Basketball | 13 | 1 | 1952 |
| Fencing | 13 | 9 | 1960, 1972–1984, 1992–2008 |
| Weightlifting | 11 | 6 | 1960, 1972–1984, 1992–1996 |
| Tennis | 9 | 6 | 1984–1992, 2004–2012 |
| Canoe/Kayak | 6 | 5 | 1984, 1996–2008 |
| Boxing | 5 | 3 | 1984–1988, 1996 |
| Taekwondo | 2 | 2 | 2004–2008 |
| Cycling | 2 | 1 | 1960 |
| Table tennis | 1 | 1 | 2004 |
| Badminton | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| Winter Olympics | |||
| Skating[17] | 8 | 5 | 1994–2010 |
| Skiing | 1 | 2 | 2006–2010 |
Athletes killed in the 1972 Olympics
The eleven members of Israel's 1972 Olympic team murdered during the Munich massacre:[3]
- David Berger, 28, weightlifter
- Ze'ev Friedman, 28, weightlifter
- Yossef Gutfreund, 40, wrestling referee
- Eliezer Halfin, 24, wrestler
- Yossef Romano, 31, weightlifter
- Amitzur Shapira, 40, track coach
- Kehat Shorr, 53, shooting coach
- Mark Slavin, 18, wrestler
- Andre Spitzer, 27, fencing coach
- Yakov Springer, 51, weightlifting judge
- Moshe Weinberg, 33, wrestling coach
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://books.google.com/books?id=9mM0XzW03AcC&pg=PA291&lpg=PA291&dq=British+Mandate+of+Palestine+olympic+committee&source=bl&ots=Oi_X4yz9r1&sig=zOACLD_UxJj2HH-iO2kImckZMwM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JN30U__wLNKNyASg04LABw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=British%20Mandate%20of%20Palestine%20olympic%20committee&f=false
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007087
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://books.google.com/books?id=VJJG14mHbGAC&pg=PA34&dq=%22munich+massacre%22+terrorists&hl=en&ei=uVIgTNfOOsL6lwf264mOAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22munich%20massacre%22%20terrorists&f=false
- ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=Ar3hAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=British+Mandate+of+Palestine+olympic+committee&source=bl&ots=rXDZIGe8g5&sig=3LXf6kMxBVTmfGJAfBmOXDBjWyA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JN30U__wLNKNyASg04LABw&ved=0CF0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=British%20Mandate%20of%20Palestine%20olympic%20committee&f=false
- ↑ http://www.eurolympic.org/index.php/en/israel
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.judoinside.com/judoka/view/2756/judo-results
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 >http://www.judoinside.com/judoka/view/2767/judo-results
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fr/gal-fridman-1.html
- ↑ http://www.paralympic.org/israel
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3562808.stm
- ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/michael-kolganov-1.html
- ↑ http://www.judoinside.com/judoka/view/2770/judo-results
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/sailing/7571689.stm
- ↑ Excluding 1980 Summer Olympics
- ↑ Including synchronized swimming and diving
- ↑ Artistic gymnastics + Rhythmic gymnastics
- ↑ Figure skating + Short track speed skating
External links
- "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- "The Olympic Committee of Israel". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- www.sports-reference.com
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