2017 Maccabiah Games


The 2017 Maccabiah Games, also referred to as the 20th Maccabiah Games, were the 20th edition of the Maccabiah Games. They took place from 4 to 17 July 2017, in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. A total of 10,000 athletes competed, a Maccabiah Games record, making the 2017 Maccabiah Games the third-largest sporting competition in the world. The athletes were from 85 countries, also a record. Countries represented for the first time included the Bahamas, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Malta, Morocco, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Trinidad. The athletes competed in 45 sports.

History

The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.

Opening ceremonies

On 6 July 2017, the opening ceremonies took place at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, with 10,000 competitors in front of 30,000 spectators. Seven athletes took part in the torch lighting ceremony, including Olympic gold-medal-winner swimmers American Anthony Ervin and Frenchman Fabien Gilot. Five Israelis participated in the torch lighting ceremony: Olympic medalists in judo Ori Sasson and Yarden Gerbi, three-time Olympic gymnast Neta Rivkin, National Basketball Association player Omri Casspi, and Paralympic world champion rower Moran Samuel.
The delegation march took place before Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and others. British Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to the crowd by means of pre-recorded videos.
Canadian ice hockey player Avi Steinberg proposed to his girlfriend Rachel on stage, and then married her under a chuppah on stage minutes later. Singers who performed included Lior Narkis, Ester Rada, Omer Adam, Victoria Hanna, and Marina Maximillian.

Notable medalists

American three-time Olympic champion swimmer Anthony Ervin won gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. American B. J. Johnson won gold medals in the men's 100m breaststroke, with a time of 1:01.27, as well as in the 200m breaststroke, with a time of 2:11.60. In the special 4x50m relay race between Israeli and American all-star teams, American Olympic champions Lenny Krayzelburg, Jason Lezak, and Ervin, with masters swimmer Alex Blavatnik, swam a time of 1:48.23 and defeated Israeli Olympians Guy Barnea, Yoav Bruck, Eran Groumi, and Tal Stricker, who had a time of 1:51.25. American Jessica Antiles won the silver medal in the 400m individual medley and a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley. American Sam Raben was part of Team USA's gold medal winnings soccer team. American Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz won the gold medal in sabre.
Canadian Olympian Josh Binstock and his partner won the gold medal in men's beach volleyball. Canadian Pan American Games medalist Sasha Gollish won gold medals running in the 800m, 1,500m, and 5,000m events. Cricketer Zac Elkin won a gold medal with Team South Africa, and cricketer Mark Bott won a silver medal with Great Britain. Josh Kennet won a silver medal with Great Britain in soccer.
Israeli-American Olympic swimmer Andrea Murez won the women's 100m freestyle, with a time of 55.15 seconds, and set a new Games record as she also won the 200m freestyle in 1:59.80. Israeli Olympic swimmer Keren Siebner won the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:16.57. Israeli Olympic swimmer Amit Ivry and Siebner won the gold and silver medals in the women's 100m butterfly. Ivry, Siebner, Shahar Menahem, and Or Tamir set an Israeli national record in the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay with a time of 4:11.67 as they won a silver medal. Israeli Olympian and former European Junior Swimming Champion in the 100m backstroke Yakov Toumarkin won the men's 200m backstroke in a time of 2:00.17.
Israeli Olympic judoka Gili Cohen won the gold medal in the under-57 kg judo event. Israeli Olympian Misha Zilberman won a gold medal in badminton mixed doubles. Israeli javelin thrower Marharyta Dorozhon won the women's competition with a throw of 63.07m, qualifying her for the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram, the 2015 Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix all-around silver medalist, won all five gold medals. Israeli Artem Dolgopyat won two gold medals in the floor exercise and pommel horse, and a bronze medal in the vault. Israeli soccer player Shani David scored a goal in the final for Israel as it beat Team USA to win a gold medal in women's soccer. Israeli Daniel Poleshchuk won a gold medal in Men's Open Squash.

Participating countries

The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. Some delegations have more relaxed rules about participation; for example, the Brazil junior football team included Ronald, the son of former three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldo, who is not Jewish, but has been a member of the Jewish football club Hebraica for years.
The athletes were from a record 85 countries. Countries represented for the first time include the Bahamas, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Malta, Morocco, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Trinidad A total of 10,000 athletes competed, a Maccabiah Games record, making the 2017 Maccabiah Games the third-largest sporting competition in the world.
Israel fielded the largest delegation, with 2,500 competitors led by Olympic windsurfer Maayan Davidovich. The US delegation of over 1,100 athletes came from over 42 states, and was the second-largest delegation. For Team USA, Olympians Eli Dershwitz, Anthony Ervin, and Zach Test competed, and Olympic gold medalists and Maccabiah Games alumni Lenny Krayzelburg and Jason Lezak joined the team as Maccabi Ambassadors, and swam two exhibition relays. The Argentinian, Australian, and Canadian delegations each had approximately 650 athletes, Brazil's delegation had 491 members, and Great Britain was represented by 375 competitors.
The following countries sent delegations to the 2017 Maccabiah Games; numbers in parentheses indicate number of competitors:
Athletes at the Games competed in 45 sports, at 68 sports complexes throughout Israel. The Games recognize all Olympic sports. The sports with the greatest number of competitors were soccer, swimming, tennis, and basketball. The sporting events included:
Israel won the most medals, a total of 470. Team USA finished second with 164 medals. Australia came in third, and Canada came in fourth. Hungary took fifth with 17 medals.
South Africa came in sixth with 15 medals. Tied for seventh with 14 medals were Germany, Great Britain, and Russia. Ukraine came in 10th with 13 medals, followed by France with 12.

Medals table for Open competition (Senior; 291 gold)

59 countries; 30 countries won medals.
The closing ceremony in Latrun, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on July 17, 2017, was hosted by Bar Refaeli. Refaeli presented Canadian Pan American Games medalist Sasha Gollish, who won three gold medals in track, with the Female Athlete of the Games Award. Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev passed the Maccabiah torch to a number of Maccabiah athletes.