As the curtain came down on the 2024 Paris Olympics, Israel can hold its head up very high after having captured seven medals, the most that any blue-and-white delegation won during a single Games and boosting the country’s overall historical tally from 13 to 20.
With one gold, five silvers, and a bronze, there is no doubt that Israel didn’t just meet expectations – it exceeded them by no small measure.
Two medals in windsurfing via Tom Reuveny, who won Israel’s lone gold, and Sharon Kantor, who took home a silver, a trio of medals in Judo, with Raz Hershko and Inbar Lanir winning silver to go along with Peter Paltchik’s bronze, plus silver from Artem Dolgopyat in artistic gymnastics floor exercise and finally another silver by the team all-around in rhythmic gymnastics makes for a smashing success in France.
The Israel Olympic Committee and all the athletes can be proud of the thrills and chills they provided for the nation in what was a compelling Olympics from the Sabra contingent in the shadow of the war with Hamas.
Outside of the medal winners, there were naturally ups and there were downs. Whether it was Daria Atamanov’s fantastic showing in rhythmic gymnastics with a superb fifth-place finish, setting her up for what can be a stellar Los Angeles Games in 2028, to Avishag Semeberg’s devastating loss in the first round of Taekwondo which saw her break out into tears, the emotional rollercoaster was second to none.
Concerns about significant anti-Israel sentiment proved to be largely overstated. Although there were isolated instances, such as a few protest signs at soccer matches, scattered Palestinian flags during events featuring Israeli athletes, and occasional booing, these occurrences were infrequent and not as widespread as anticipated.
One notable incident involved Algerian judoka Messaoud Redouane Dris, who, by arriving overweight for his weigh-in, forfeited his match against Israeli competitor Tohar Butbul. This action, viewed as a political statement, is under investigation by the International Judo Federation.
Despite the initial apprehensions about facing hostility, Israeli athletes were predominantly greeted with enthusiastic support. Spectators frequently showed their encouragement by waving Israeli flags and cheering loudly during competitions.
Back home, the ride that the entire country was on offered a bit of a distraction from the imminent threats from Iran and Hezbollah, and that was more than welcome. But at no point did any Israeli athlete not understand the importance of their performance for the morale of the country and the responsibility that they had in representing the blue-and-white.
Goosebumps were at the forefront time and time again over the course of these two-plus weeks, but when Hatikva was played in Marseille after Reuveny took home gold, it was the pinnacle for any Israeli. That was the dream, to hear the Israeli national anthem being played for the entire world to hear and Reuveny, who was not a medal favorite heading into the Games, providing the excitement that left all Israelis anywhere speechless.
The fact that Reuveny’s coach is Gal Fridman, Israel’s first gold medalist back in 2004, made the storybook ending even that more satisfying, while Kantor’s coach was Shachar Tzuberi, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist himself.
There is rarely an Olympics these days in which a medal in judo is unexpected. The Israeli team knew full well that Yael Arad, Israel’s first-ever medalist at the 1992 Games in judo, set a standard that many have followed since. From Arik Zeevi, Ori Sasson, and Yarden Gerbi, judo is a sport that Israelis have been extremely successful in on a week-to-week basis in Grand Prix, Grand Slams, World Championships, and European Championships, but ultimately winning a medal at the Olympics can’t ever be taken for granted.
When Lanir and Hershko won their semifinal bouts, the joy was evident that they knew they would be coming home with a medal, while Paltchik’s came via the repechage and offered so much emotion that one could feel what he was experiencing right through the television set.
Dolgopyat had a tough qualifying round that could have meant the end of his gold medal defense, but he slipped into the finals and put up an impressive performance, which allowed him to win silver to his delight.
The group all-around rhythmic gymnastics team of Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki and Shani Bakanovalso didn’t have a very good qualifying showing, but they were able to get into the finals and once you’re in, you’re in it to win it, and they did just that. After a finer 5 Hoops rotation, the squad put in a masterful routine in 3 Ribbons and 2 Balls to take the silver.
This would not have been able to occur had it not been for the team’s coaches, Ayelet Zussman and Linoy Ashram, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Zussman at her side. Without the winning mentality that the pair were able to imbue in the team, there is no way that they would have been able to rise to the occasion in the finals, as it’s not just the physical side of the performance that gave them a place on the podium, but it’s also the mental side of the game.
Mentally strong athletes
We saw that all of Israel’s medalists were mentally strong and had that extra edge when it came down to “money time,” and that is something that can’t be discounted one bit.
All in all, these Olympic Games will go down in the history books for Israel, and the standard has been set for 2028 in LA. But the blue-and-white can’t rest on its laurels. The OCI will need to now start working on what comes next and how it can better 2024, because that is who we are as a nation – always looking to take the next step and ready for the next challenge that is right around the corner.
At Sunday’s raucous closing ceremony to the Games, Israel’s flag bearers were Reuveni, who remained in France and made the journey from Marseille to Paris, and Paritzki, captain of the silver-winning rhythmic gymnastics team.
The Paralympic Games, set to begin on August 28, will continue the fun in the City of Lights. There are 28 Israeli athletes who are slated to compete, including gold medalists Iyad Shalabi, Mark Malyar, and Ami Omer Dadaon in swimming, along with silver medalist rower Moran Samuel.