Israel added yet another medal to their impressive haul at the Paris Olympics as the Rhythmic Gymnastics Team captured silver for the nation’s 7th medal with a terrific performance in the Group All-Around after having qualified for the finals on Friday.
Coach Ayelet Zussman spoke about the team’s performance, “How did we do it? With the love for the sport, with the great coaching staff, and by working hard together. Linoy Ashram had a huge influence on rhythmic gymnastics and she had an incredible five years where she was constantly at the top, so we knew she was a candidate for a medal at the last Olympics. The same is true with this team, who have been at the top over the past three years and here they did it.”
“When they finished their last rotation I knew there was a very good chance that we would win a medal. I am happy, I am proud to see all the people that encouraged us and who were excited for us. When we are together, it gives us the strength to achieve everything we want to achieve,” the coach concluded.
The squad of Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki and Shani Bakanov recorded a score of 35.600 in 5 Hoops, which was good for 5th place and 33.250 in 3 Ribbons and 2 Balls for 2nd, which gave them an overall score of 68.850. This placed them just behind China, which won gold with a score of 69.800 and ahead of Italy, which scored 68.100.
The key score for the blue-and-white was in the 3 Ribbons and 2 Balls, which was a marked improvement over Friday’s qualification score of 31.900, which was able to place them ahead of Italy to take home the silver medal.
Paritzki, who will be a flag bearer at the closing ceremonies, discussed the accomplishment, “I can’t describe our feelings. This is the highlight of our career. I am thankful for going through this experience together. When we finished the first rotation, we were uncertain as to how we did, but Ayelet calmly told us to forget about what was, concentrate on what will be, go out and make history. When we saw that we were in second place, I realized how great an honor it was. Ayelet is a one-of-a-kind coach, she was our mother and it’s all thanks to her.”
Celebrating the win and the hard work that secured it
After winning the silver, the other gymnasts spoke as well, beginning with Shani Bakanov, “We worked hard and after the first rotation we had to reset and do the second rotation as well as possible to get onto the podium. The coaching staff helped us do it and there was a lot of crying for joy.”
“I am shocked,” Diana Svertsov added. “I was extremely excited to see that we were in second place. It’s a dream come true to be here but to win a silver medal is unbelievable. I can’t get over how amazing and what kind of great honor this is. We are all different and complement each other like a puzzle. We came together and together we won.”
Adar Friedmann chimed in, “The most stressful moments of my life were when we were waiting.
“It was difficult and nerve-racking for us, it was a struggle from the first moment. Our secret? We work together like a family and take care of each other. It’s a historic and crazy achievement, we didn’t expect it and it stunned us.”
Ofir Shaham shared her feelings, “I’m shocked, unable to speak I don’t have any words. It was unbelievable. We have waited and worked so hard for this moment. At the end of the second exercise we knew it was over and we were waiting for the score, we are thankful that we won a medal. Without the team this would not have been possible. The crowd was crazy. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.”
The CEO of the Israel Olympic Committee Gili Lustig added, “We won 7 medals after what happened to us as a country on October 7. Precisely now, we are here, we are on the map, with a stand full of Israelis with blue-and-white flags. This is the victory over what happened to us on October 7. We were all on a mission and there is nothing more symbolic than that.”
In the Men’s Marathon, Maru Teferi finished 26th, Gashau Ayale 35th and Girmaw Amare 44th.
“A marathon is a marathon,” Teferi said. “Sometimes you plan and then the opposite of what you planned happens. What you plan doesn’t always happen and that’s what happened. I’m happy that I finished and that I reached the finish line and representing the country is also my honor.”
The Artistic Swimming duo of Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee finished the Duet Technical Routine in 9th place with a score of 243.0666 and a 239.3416 in the Duet Free Routine for an overall total of 482.4082, good for 9th place at the end of the competition.
In Cycling, Track Men’s Keirin, Mikhail Yakovlev advanced to Sunday’s quarterfinals after finishing in first place in his heat as he will threaten yet another medal for Israel.
On Friday, Israelis were busy in Rhythmic Gymnastics and in the River Seine.
Daria Atamanv 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,” she added. “I hope I managed to inspire and that people are proud of me.”
Her coach, Ayelet Zussman, 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.”
Earlier in the day, Matan Roditi finished 16th in the 10km. Men’s Marathon Swimming with a time of 1:57:02 hours, an event in which he had finished fourth 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.”