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Today: The start of Israel’s Olympic journey

2024 Israel Olympic Team at the President's House. Wikipedia, maskedsinger

The Paris Olympics will not officially begin for two days, but for Israel, the games begin today – when Israel’s soccer team (up to the age of 23) will meet Mali in the group stage, in a 16 teams competition. Israel’s soccer team has not been in the Olympics for almost 50 years, but its successes in tournaments in recent years (European and World Cup) have put it back on the map.

This Olympics is going to be historic for Israel, even before we have seen any medals –only from the very fact and makeup of the delegation. First of all, this is the largest delegation that Israel has ever sent to the Olympics, with about 100 athletes, half of them women. Second, this is the first time Israel has sent an Olympic champion (Artyom Dolgofiat, who won the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo) to the Olympics – and the first time Israel sends 4 world champions in general, with Dolgofiat’s side being Sharon Cantor (windsurfing), Inbar Lanir (judo), and Israel’s artistic gymnastics team.

Apart from these four, which naturally raise expectations for medals, good results can also be expected from Anastasia Gurbenko (swimming), and Maru Tapuri (runner). Of course, it is forbidden to underestimate previous years’ medalists – including Avishag Samberg (Tukwando, bronze in Tokyo 2021) and the Israeli judo team, which includes Timna Nelson-Levy, Raz Hershko, Peter Pelchik, Sagi Muki and others.

The Israeli Olympic team set a goal of 2-3 medals (when Israel won 4 in the previous), but one can be optimistic and hope for more. In any case, it is important to remember that this year’s story is not necessarily about winning, but rather about participating, and representing Israel with the world at this challenging time – against expectations of riots, anti-Israel demonstrations, and harassment by foreign athletes. The Israeli team is coming motivated to the tournament, to contribute to the Israeli honor and to raise morale a little during this challenging time – and we at home will also back them with a full heart.

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