On Friday, Israelis were busy in Rhythmic Gymnastics and in the Seine River as the Games began to wind down in Paris.
Daria Atamanov took to the mat for the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Qualification and finished the Hoop routine with a score of 35.200 that placed her in fifth spot after the first rotation. Next up was Ball with a score of 31.800 for ninth place and then in Clubs she put in a 33.850 score which was good for seventh.
In Atamanov’s final rotation, Ribbon, she put in a terrific score of 33.000 and finished the competition with a total of 133.850, good for fifth place overall. While it was not good enough for a place on the podium, it’s clear that the 18-year old will be a threat at the Los Angeles Olympics slated for 2028.
“I gave my all and did everything I could,” said the emotional Atamanov, who struggled to speak at the end. “Nothing went through my mind after dropping the ball, just to keep doing the exercises as best as I can. There's no time to think about it. You just move on.”
“I had a tough year with an injury, without proper training and competitions, but that's also what made me stronger,” Atamanov added. “I hope I managed to inspire and that people are proud of me.”Atamov’s coach, Ayelet Zusman, agreed.
“Daria is a super talent; talent just overflows from her. She works hard. I have no doubt that if it weren’t for the injury, she could have achieved more. I’m proud of her for her performance and how she fought.”
Also on Friday, the Rhythmic Gymnastics Team looked to qualify for the Group All-Around Final which will take place on Saturday.
The squad of Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki and Shai Bakanov placed seventh in 5 Hoops with a score of 35.250 as well as a score of 31.900 good for fifth place in 3 Ribbons and 2 Balls for sixth spot overall, which allowed the group to advance to Saturday’s final.
Israeli athletes in other sports
Earlier in the day, Matan Roditi finished 16th in the 10km Men’s Marathon Swimming with a time of 1:57:02 hours, which was an event that he had finished fourth back at the Tokyo Olympics.
“This ended pretty quickly when I realized that I had to try to fight the situation I was in,” Roditi said following the race. “I stayed strong and tried to finish as strong as possible. In fact, I did expect such a challenge, I knew that there are different rules here, swimming with the current or against the current which is something that changes the game. I knew that almost everything was going to be determined in the first 600 meters and the beginning of the race, which is not where my strengths lie.”
“I feel that I prepared for this for three years,” Roditi continued. "In terms of a 10 km open water swim my abilities were there, also in terms of strength and I had it but it ended quite quickly in the first 600 meters. I knew I had to give all my strength there, it wasn't enough. From there, competing for the top-six or top-eight were pretty much over for me.”
Later on Friday night as well as on Saturday, the Artistic Swimming duo of Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee will be in action in the pool as they compete in the Duet Technical Routine as well as the Duet Free Routine.
In Cycling - Track, Mikhail Yakovlev will once again be in competition, this time in Men’s Keirin as he will look to build off of his fine showing in Sprint earlier in the week.
Also on Saturday, the Men’s Marathon runners will be on the streets of Paris as Maru Teferi, Girmaw Amare and Gashau Ayale will look to make blue-and-white history, while the Women’s Marathon will take place on Sunday, the final day of the Games as Lonah Chemtai Salpeter and Maor Tayouri will both be running for Israel.