1981 Maccabiah Games
Nations participating | 34 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Debuting countries |
Bermuda Puerto Rico New Zealand | ||
Athletes participating | 3450 | ||
Opening city | Ramat Gan | ||
Opening ceremony | Torch lit by Tal Brody | ||
Main venue | National Stadium | ||
|
The 1981 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 30 nations.
The 30-sports menu included rugby union,[1] sailing and softball for the first time.
New facilities for squash, wrestling, karate, and judo were introduced.
History
The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932.[2] In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.[3][4][5]
Notable medalists
Mitch Gaylord, gymnastics, won 6 gold medals; he later went on to win Olympic gold.
Also, tennis players Brad Gilbert and Andrea Leand earned gold medals,[6] and Shlomo Glickstein won the men's singles in tennis, the first Israeli to win a Maccabiah tennis championship.
Mark Berger, who three years later was to go on to win a silver medal in the Olympics, won a gold medal in judo. David Blatt won a gold medal with Team USA in basketball.
In track and field, James Espir of Great Britain, who earlier that year had run a mile in 3 minutes 56.7 seconds, thereby becoming the fastest Jewish miler ever, won the 1500 metres and 5000 metres gold medals on successive days. At the Games, Maya Kalle-Bentzur of Israel won the gold medal in the women's long jump.[7]
Participating communities
The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.
External links
References
- ↑ Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1), p.68
- ↑ A brief history of the Maccabiah Games
- ↑ Helen Jefferson Lenskyj (2012). Gender Politics and the Olympic Industry. Palgrave Macmillan.
- ↑ Mitchell G. Bard and Moshe Schwartz (2005). 1001 Facts Everyone Should Know about Israel p. 84.
- ↑ "History of the Maccabiah Games". Maccabi Australia.
- ↑ Maccabi USA: History
- ↑ "Track and Field Results Maccabiah Games at Tel Aviv, July 13". UPI.