Israel at the Olympics

Israel at the
Olympics
Israel at the; Olympics
IOC code	ISR
NOC	Olympic Committee of Israel
Website	www.olympicsil.co.il (in Hebrew and English)
Medals; Ranked 82nd	Gold 3 Silver 1 Bronze 9 Total 13
Summer appearances
	1952; 1956; 1960; 1964; 1968; 1972; 1976; 1980; 1984; 1988; 1992; 1996; 2000; 2004; 2008; 2012; 2016; 2020; 2024;
Winter appearances
	1994; 1998; 2002; 2006; 2010; 2014; 2018; 2022;

Israel has competed at the Olympic Games as a nation since 1952. Its National Olympic Committee was formed in 1933, during the British Mandate of Palestine.^[1] Israel has sent a team to each Summer Olympic Games since 1952 (except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics), and to each Winter Olympic Games since 1994. The country became a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in 1994.

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1952 Helsinki	25	0	0	0	0	—
1956 Melbourne	3	0	0	0	0	—
1960 Rome	23	0	0	0	0	—
1964 Tokyo	10	0	0	0	0	—
1968 Mexico City	29	0	0	0	0	—
1972 Munich	15	0	0	0	0	—
1976 Montreal	26	0	0	0	0	—
1980 Moscow	did not participate
1984 Los Angeles	32	0	0	0	0	—
1988 Seoul	19	0	0	0	0	—
1992 Barcelona	30	0	1	1	2	48
1996 Atlanta	25	0	0	1	1	71
2000 Sydney	39	0	0	1	1	71
2004 Athens	36	1	0	1	2	52
2008 Beijing	43	0	0	1	1	80
2012 London	37	0	0	0	0	—
2016 Rio de Janeiro	47	0	0	2	2	77
2020 Tokyo	90	2	0	2	4	39
2024 Paris	future event
2028 Los Angeles
2032 Brisbane
Total		3	1	9	13	82

Medals by Winter Games

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1994 Lillehammer	1	0	0	0	0	–
1998 Nagano	3	0	0	0	0	–
2002 Salt Lake City	5	0	0	0	0	–
2006 Turin	5	0	0	0	0	–
2010 Vancouver	3	0	0	0	0	–
2014 Sochi	5	0	0	0	0	–
2018 Pyeongchang	10	0	0	0	0	–
2022 Beijing	6	0	0	0	0	–
2026 Milan–Cortina	future event
Total		0	0	0	0	–

Medals by summer sport

Sports	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
Sailing	1	0	2	3	29
Artistic gymnastics	1	0	0	1	35
Rhythmic gymnastics	1	0	0	1	7
Judo	0	1	5	6	38
Canoeing	0	0	1	1	42
Taekwondo	0	0	1	1	38
Total	3	1	9	13	82

List of medalists

Games	Sport	Event	Medal	Name	Ref.
1992 Barcelona	Judo	Women's -61 kg	Silver	Yael Arad	^[2]
1992 Barcelona	Judo	Men's -71 kg	Bronze	Oren Smadja	^[3]
1996 Atlanta	Sailing	Men's sailboard	Bronze	Gal Fridman	^[4]
2000 Sydney	Canoeing	Men's K-1 500 metres	Bronze	Michael Kolganov	^[5]
2004 Athens	Sailing	Men's sailboard	Gold	Gal Fridman	^[4]
2004 Athens	Judo	Men's -100 kg	Bronze	Ariel Zeevi	^[6]
2008 Beijing	Sailing	Men's sailboard	Bronze	Shahar Tzuberi	^[7]
2016 Rio de Janeiro	Judo	Women's -63 kg	Bronze	Yarden Gerbi	^[8]
2016 Rio de Janeiro	Judo	Men's +100 kg	Bronze	Or Sasson	^[9]
2020 Tokyo	Gymnastics	Men's floor	Gold	Artem Dolgopyat	^[10]
	Gymnastics	Women's rhythmic individual all-around	Gold	Linoy Ashram	^[11]
	Taekwondo	Women's -49 kg	Bronze	Avishag Semberg	^[12]
	Judo	Mixed team	Bronze	Israel national judo team Tohar Butbul Raz Hershko Li Kochman Inbar Lanir Sagi Muki Shira Rishony Baruch Shmailov Timna Nelson-Levy Peter Paltchik Or Sasson Gili Sharir	^[13]

History

In 1933 the Palestine National Olympic Committee was officially formed, and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in May 1934,^[14] despite never competing (the 1936 games were held in Nazi Germany and were boycotted by this Jewish Olympic committee, while the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to World War II).^[1] Although the Palestine National committee represented Muslims, Jews, and Christians living in British-ruled Mandatory Palestine, its rules stated that they "represent[ed] the Jewish National Home."^[1] In 1948, shortly after the State of Israel was established, its request to participate in the 1948 Olympics (symbolically represented by Raya Bronstein and Frieda Berson-Lichtblau [he]^[15]) was denied, as Mandatory Palestine had ceased to exist and the newly formed State of Israel wasn't yet recognized by IOC.^[16] In 1951 the National Olympic Committee was re-organized and change the name to the Olympic Committee of Israel, and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1952.

Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 instead of joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees.^[17]

Competing

Israel won its first Olympic medal in its tenth Olympic appearance, in 1992, in Judo when Yael Arad won a silver medal.^[2] She was followed a day later by another judoka, Oren Smadja, who won bronze.^[3] Since then, Israel won a bronze medal in five successive Summer Olympics until the streak ended in 2012. Additionally, in 2004, Gal Fridman became Israel's first gold medallist, in men's windsurfing.^[4] This was his second medal, following his bronze in 1996,^[4] and he is the only individual multi-medallist. Israel also won 2 bronze medals in 2016. In the postponed 2020 Games Israel received 2 gold medals, won by Artem Dolgopyat in men's gymnastics (floor routine), and Linoy Ashram in women's rhythmic gymnastics (individual all-around), and 2 bronze medals, one won by Avishag Semberg in taekwondo, and 1 won by the judo Mixed team. As a member of the Israel national judo Mixed team, Ori Sasson became Israel's second multi-medalist, while the latter bronze one is a shared one. Through 2018, Israel has not won any medals in the Winter Olympics.

Ágnes Keleti, who emigrated to Israel in 1957, holds more medals than any other Israeli citizen. During the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics Ágnes won 10 medals competing for Hungary at the Olympics.^[18] The only Jew to hold more medals than Keleti is American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won 11.^[19]

Israel has been more successful at the Paralympic Games than at the Olympics, with 375 medals between 1960 and 2016.^[20]

Conflicts with nations

1972 Summer Olympics

Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich massacre.^[21] The tragedy caused the Israeli delegation to withdraw from the remainder of the Games.

The murdered people were:

David Berger, 28, weightlifter
Ze'ev Friedman, 28, weightlifter
Yossef Gutfreund, 40, wrestling referee
Eliezer Halfin, 24, wrestler
Yossef Romano, 32, weightlifter
Amitzur Shapira, 40, track coach
Kehat Shorr, 53, shooting coach
Mark Slavin, 18, wrestler
Andre Spitzer, 27, fencing coach
Yakov Springer, 51, weightlifting judge
Moshe Weinberg, 33, wrestling coach

On 3 August 2016, two days prior to the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee officially honored the Israelis killed for the first time.^[22] They were also honored during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

1980 Summer Olympics

Israel was one of the countries that boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but also because of Soviet opposition to Israel and Zionism.^[23]

2004 Summer Olympics

An Iranian judoka, Arash Miresmaeili, did not compete in a match against Israeli Ehud Vaks during the 2004 Summer Olympics, due to the government of Iran having taken steps to avoid any competition between its athletes and those from Israel. He was officially disqualified for being overweight, however Miresmaeli was awarded US$125,000 in prize money by the Iranian government, an amount paid to all Iranian gold medal winners. The International Judo Federation conducted an investigation to see if he intentionally came in overweight in order to miss the bout. He was officially cleared of intentionally avoiding the bout, but his receipt of the prize money raised suspicion.^[24]

2016 Summer Olympics

Saudi Arabian judoka, Joud Fahmy, forfeited her match in the 2016 Summer Olympics possibly in order to avoid competing against Israeli Gili Cohen.^[25] Later in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Israeli Or Sasson defeated Egyptian judoka Islam El Shahaby in the first round, after the match ended, Sasson tried to shake his opponent's hand, but El Shahaby refused.^[26]

Prior to the 2016 opening ceremony, the Lebanese delegation was assigned to ride on the same bus as the Israeli delegation.^[27] The head of the Lebanese team, Salim al-Haj Nicolas, admitted that he demanded that the bus door be closed on the Israeli team, and that the Lebanese demanded that the Israeli athletes not board the bus. Udi Gal, an Israeli Olympic sailor, said his team ultimately decided to travel separately to avoid an "international and physical incident" but added "How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?"^[28]

Olympic participants

Summer Olympics

Sport	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	Total
Archery																	1	1
Athletics	7	1	8	5	2	2	1	7		4	4	9	5	4	3	8	9	79
Badminton															1	1	2	4
Baseball																	24	24
Basketball	13																	13
Boxing								2	3		1							6
Canoeing/Kayaking								1			1	5	3	1				11
Cycling			2													2	2	6
Diving	1	1																2
Equestrian																	4	4
Fencing			2			2	1	4		1	3	1	1	3				18
Football					19		17											36
Golf																1		1
Gymnastics			3				1	5	3	1		1	2	8	10	7	10	51
Judo							1	2		4	2	3	5	3	5	7	12	50
Sailing						2	1	5	4	5	5	6	6	7	7	6	5	59
Shooting	4		2	3	4	2	1		2	3	3	2	2	3	1	1	1	34
Surfing																	1	1
Swimming	1	1	4	2	6	1	2	3	1	5	4	11	4	9	7	9	13	83
Synchronized swimming															2	2	2	6
Table tennis													1					1
Taekwondo													1	1		1	1	4
Tennis								1	4	1			2	4	3	1		16
Triathlon																1	2	3
Weightlifting			2			3	1	1		3	1					1	1	13
Wrestling						3	1		2	4	1	3	3			1		18
Total	26	3	23	10	31	15	27	37	19	31	25	41	35	43	37	47	90	540

Winter Olympics

Sport	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022	Total
Alpine Skiing				1	1	1	1	2	6
Figure Skating	1	3	4	4	2	3	7	3	27
Short Track Speed Skating			1			1	1	1	4
Skeleton							1		1
Total	1	3	5	5	3	5	10	6	38

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (11 August 2011). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. ISBN 9780810875227.
^ ^a ^b "Yael Arad, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.
^ ^a ^b "Shay-Oren Smadja, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Gal Fridman". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14.
^ "Michael Kolganov". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03.
^ "Ariel Zeevi, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.
^ "Olympics – Sailing – Dempsey misses windsurfing medal". BBC Sport. 20 August 2008.
^ "Yarden Gerbi wins bronze medal in judo, Israel's first medal of the Rio Olympics – Sports". Haaretz.com.
^ "Or Sassson wins Israel's second judo bronze at Rio Games". Times of Israel.
^ Aharoni, Oren (1 August 2021). "Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat claims gold at Tokyo Games". Ynet.
^ Halickman, Joshua; Zonshine, Idan (7 August 2021). "Olympics: Rhythmic Gymnast Linoy Ashram wins gold medal for Israel". The Jerusalem Post.
^ "Olympics: Israeli Avishag Semberg wins bronze in taekwondo". The Jerusalem Post. 25 July 2021.
^ Katzir, Itamar (31 July 2021). "Israeli Mixed Judo Team Wins Bronze, Defeating Russia 4-1 at Tokyo Olympics". Haaretz.
^ Galily, Yair; Ben-Porat, Amir (31 October 2013). Sport, Politics and Society in the Land of Israel. ISBN 9781317967910.
^ רעיה ברונשטיין ז"ל
^ Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (2011-08-11). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7522-7.
^ "Israel". eurolympic.org. Archived from the original on 2014-04-15.
^ AGNES KELETI (KLEIN)
^ MARK SPITZ
^ "Israel". paralympic.org.
^ Aubrey, Stefan M. (2004). The New Dimension of International Terrorism. ISBN 9783728129499.
^ First official Olympic ceremony held in memory of Munich victims
^ TIMELINE: Jews in the Summer Olympics
^ "Europe – Mystery over Iran judo 'protest'". BBC NEWS. 15 August 2004.
^ Saudi judoka forfeits Rio match, apparently to avoid Israeli
^ Rio Olympics 2016 - Egypt Judo Fighter El Shehabt refuses to shake hands of Israeli Or Sasson
^ "Israel protests after Lebanese athletes refuse to share Olympic bus". The Guardian. 2016-08-08. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18.
^ Rio 2016 Olympics: Lebanese athletes refuse to travel with Israel team

External links

"Israel". International Olympic Committee. 15 November 2021.
"Israel". Olympedia.com.
"Olympic Analytics/ISR". olympanalyt.com.

[PLE-1] Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (11 August 2011). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. ISBN 9780810875227.

[Yael-2] "Yael Arad, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.

[Oren-3] "Shay-Oren Smadja, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.

[Gal-4] "Gal Fridman". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14.

[5] "Michael Kolganov". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03.

[6] "Ariel Zeevi, Judoka, JudoInside". judoinside.com.

[7] "Olympics – Sailing – Dempsey misses windsurfing medal". BBC Sport. 20 August 2008.

[8] "Yarden Gerbi wins bronze medal in judo, Israel's first medal of the Rio Olympics – Sports". Haaretz.com.

[9] "Or Sassson wins Israel's second judo bronze at Rio Games". Times of Israel.

[10] Aharoni, Oren (1 August 2021). "Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat claims gold at Tokyo Games". Ynet.

[11] Halickman, Joshua; Zonshine, Idan (7 August 2021). "Olympics: Rhythmic Gymnast Linoy Ashram wins gold medal for Israel". The Jerusalem Post.

[12] "Olympics: Israeli Avishag Semberg wins bronze in taekwondo". The Jerusalem Post. 25 July 2021.

[13] Katzir, Itamar (31 July 2021). "Israeli Mixed Judo Team Wins Bronze, Defeating Russia 4-1 at Tokyo Olympics". Haaretz.

[14] Galily, Yair; Ben-Porat, Amir (31 October 2013). Sport, Politics and Society in the Land of Israel. ISBN 9781317967910.

[anat-15] רעיה ברונשטיין ז"ל

[16] Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (2011-08-11). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7522-7.

[17] "Israel". eurolympic.org. Archived from the original on 2014-04-15.

[18] AGNES KELETI (KLEIN)

[19] MARK SPITZ

[20] "Israel". paralympic.org.

[mm-21] Aubrey, Stefan M. (2004). The New Dimension of International Terrorism. ISBN 9783728129499.

[22] First official Olympic ceremony held in memory of Munich victims

[23] TIMELINE: Jews in the Summer Olympics

[24] "Europe – Mystery over Iran judo 'protest'". BBC NEWS. 15 August 2004.

[25] Saudi judoka forfeits Rio match, apparently to avoid Israeli

[26] Rio Olympics 2016 - Egypt Judo Fighter El Shehabt refuses to shake hands of Israeli Or Sasson

[27] "Israel protests after Lebanese athletes refuse to share Olympic bus". The Guardian. 2016-08-08. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18.

[28] Rio 2016 Olympics: Lebanese athletes refuse to travel with Israel team

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Israel at the Olympics

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

Medals by summer sport

List of medalists

History

Competing

Conflicts with nations

1972 Summer Olympics

1980 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

2016 Summer Olympics

Olympic participants

Summer Olympics

Winter Olympics

See also

References

External links

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