Israel at the Olympics
Template:Infobox Olympics Israel 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. As the team represented the Jewish community, it boycotted the 1936 Games in Germany in protest of the Nazi Party's anti-Semitic policies. 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 Black September terrorists.
Israel won its first Olympic medal only in its tenth Olympic appearance, in 1992. Judoka Yael Arad was credited with the first medal in Israel's history, a silver. She was followed a day later by another judoka, Oren Smadja, who won bronze. Since then, Israel won at least one medal in each Summer Olympics. In 2004, Gal Fridman became Israel's first gold medallist in men's windsurfing. This was his second medal, following his bronze in 1996, and he is the only multi-medallist.
Israel has been more successful at the Paralympic Games than at the Olympics. At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Israelis won a total of thirteen medals, of which four were gold. Izhak Mamistvalov won three medals (of which two were gold) in swimming, while Keren Leibowitz won four medals, of which one was gold, also in swimming.[1] Israel, which has never hosted the Olympic Games, was the host of the 1968 Summer Paralympics, and finished third on the medal chart with 62 medals, of which 18 gold. Possibly the most successful Israeli Paralympian was Uri Bergman, who, between 1976 and 1988, won thirteen medals at the Paralympic Games, of which twelve gold. In total, Israel has won 113 gold medals at the Summer Paralympic Games, contrasted with just 1 at the Summer Olympic Games.
List of medalists
| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Silver |
Yael Arad | 1992 Barcelona | Judo | Women's half middleweight |
 Bronze |
Oren Smadja | 1992 Barcelona | Judo | Men's lightweight |
| Bronze |
Gal Fridman | 1996 Atlanta | Sailing | Men's sailboard |
| Bronze |
Michael Kolganov | 2000 Sydney | Canoeing | Men's K-1 500 metres |
| Bronze |
Ariel Zeevi | 2004 Athens | Judo | Men's half heavyweight |
 Gold |
Gal Fridman | 2004 Athens | Sailing | Men's sailboard |
| Bronze |
Shahar Zubari | 2008 Beijing | Sailing | Men's sailboard |
Medal tables
Medals by Games
| 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
| Sailing | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Judo | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Canoeing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
|---|
Olympic participants
299 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[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Olympics | |||
| Athletics | 46 | 13 | 1952-1984, 1992-2008 |
| Swimming[3] | 41 | 14 | 1952-2008 |
| Football | 35 | 2 | 1968, 1976 |
| Sailing | 29 | 9 | 1972-2008 |
| Shooting | 25 | 13 | 1952, 1960-2008 |
| Gymnastics[4] | 23 | 8 | 1960, 1976-1992, 2000-2008 |
| Judo | 15 | 7 | 1976-1984, 1992-2008 |
| 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 | 5 | 1984-1992, 2004-2008 |
| 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 |
| Winter Olympics | |||
| Skating[5] | 8 | 5 | 1994-2010 |
| Skiing | 1 | 2 | 2006-2010 |
Athletes killed in the 1972 Olympics
The eleven members of Israel's 1972 Olympic team killed during the Munich massacre:
- 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
- "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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