The 17th Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were an incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the United States, almost 500 from Australia, and more than 2,000 from Israel, bringing the total participants to more than 7,700 from 55 countries.
Israel ended the games at the top of the medal count with 228 gold medals. The United States was second with 71 gold medals, while Russia came in third with 15.
History
The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932.[1] In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.[2][3][4] Among other Olympic and world champions, swimmer Mark Spitz won 10 Maccabiah gold medals before earning his first of nine Olympic gold medals.[5]
In fencing, Vadim Gutzeit of Ukraine, an Olympic gold medal winner in team sabre, won gold medals in individual and team sabre. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Sergey Sharikov of Russia won the silver medal in sabre.[6][7][8] Two-time Pan American Games gold medalist Dan Kellner won the silver medal in foil for the US, as he was defeated by Israel's Tomer Or.[9][10][11]Soren Thompson, former US Junior Champion, NCAA Fencing Champion, and future team world epee champion, won a team silver medal in epee for the US.[12]
In swimming, American Olympic champion Scott Goldblatt won gold medals in the 4x100 freestyle relay and the 4x200 freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 200m freestyle, and a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle.[13][14][15] American Daniel Madwed won a gold medal and set a new Maccabiah Games record in the men's 200-meter butterfly.[16] Israeli Yoav Gath won gold medals in both the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, setting a new Maccabiah record in the 200.[16] Israeli Olympian Michael Halika won a gold medal in the 400 m medley, setting a Maccabiah record.[17] Israeli Olympian Anna Gostomelsky won the women's 100m freestyle, and set a new Maccabiah record.[18]
In women's basketball, Shay Doron, who two years later signed with the WNBANew York Liberty, led the USA to a 5–0 record and a gold medal, and was selected Maccabiah MVP. In men's basketball, Guy Pnini (who was named tournament MVP) and Team Israel won a gold medal.[21]
In karate, the US Men's open team took several gold and silver medals. The youth team took one silver and one bronze. In judo, 17-year-old Alice Schlesinger won a gold medal by defeating the world champion and former Israeli Daniella Krakower in the final.[33][34] Canadian future Olympian Josh Binstock competed in volleyball.[28]
Russian grandmaster and future European champion Evgeniy Najer won a gold medal in chess, as Israeli grandmaster Ilya Smirin won a silver medal.[35]
Participating communities
Not all Jewish communities participated in the 2005 Maccabiah, as has been the case since 1950.[36] Jewish communities in Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, etc.), as well as the community in Iran, did not send delegations. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.
Albert "Albie" Axelrod was an American foil fencer.
The 16th Maccabiah Games, the Opening Ceremony was held in Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium, while the re-building process of the collapsed bridge and investigations into the collapse continued. The 16th Maccabiah attracted more than 5,000 athletes from 46 countries.
The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi before a crowd of 30,000. The closing ceremony took place on September 5, 1961, at the stadium before a crowd of 40,000, with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion telling the crowd that he hoped that in the future athletes from North Africa, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union would also compete. The United States won 58 gold medals, Israel won 28 gold medals, and South Africa was third with 11 gold medals. American sportscaster Mel Allen narrated a film about the 1961 Games.
At the 10th Maccabiah Games in Israel, more than 2,800 athletes from 34 countries participated in 26 different sports, including chess and bridge and for the first time badminton.
The 3rd Maccabiah took place during Sukkot from September 27 to October 8, 1950, with 17 countries competing. It was the third edition of the Maccabiah Games and the first held since the independence of the State of Israel; 15 years after the previous Maccabiah. Israel won the 1950 Maccabiah Games, Great Britain was second, South Africa third, the United States fourth, Canada fifth, and Austria sixth.
Eight hundred ninety athletes representing 23 countries competed in the 1953 4th Maccabiah Games, held September 20 to 29, in 18 branches of sports.
The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes parading past him. Representative Jack Kemp and a supporter of Israel, marched with the United States team. Israel won the most medals (199), with 65 gold. The United States won 188 medals, 85 gold. South Africa, Britain, and Canada had the next-most total medals.
The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Mexico and the Netherlands, Southern Rhodesia, Australia, Argentina and Italy, and Brazil, Canada, Denmark, and Sweden with one each.
At the 8th Maccabiah Games from July 29 to August 7, 1969, 1,450 athletes from 27 countries competed in 22 sports in Israel. The final gold medal count was the United States in first place (64), Israel second, and Great Britain third (11).
The 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports.
The 15th Maccabiah Games are remembered for being marred by a bridge collapse that killed several participants.
The 9th Maccabiah Games, which were held from July 9 to 19, 1973, were opened in Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel. Spain and Costa Rica made their debuts in the Games. A total of 1,800 athletes competed on behalf of 27 countries in 20 branches of sport, in 30 venues across Israel. The Games took place ten months after the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were slain during the Munich Massacre. The United States won 76 gold medals, and Israel was next with 60 gold medals.
The 13th Maccabiah Games brought 4,500 athletes to Israel from 45 nations.
The 14th Maccabiah Games brought 5,100 athletes to Israel from 48 nations.
The 18th Maccabiah Games, were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Police and Fire Games, and Universiade. On the 13 July, more than 6,000 Jewish athletes from all over the world joined Team Israel's 3,000 participants at the Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, Israel, for the opening ceremony. American swimmer Jason Lezak was given the honor of lighting the Maccabiah torch at the Opening Ceremony.
Peter Bakonyi was a Hungarian-born Canadian Olympic foil and épée fencer. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He was also a six-time Canadian national fencing champion, 18-time British Columbia fencing champion, three-time medalist at the Commonwealth Games, four-time silver medalist at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
The 19th Maccabiah were held during July 18 to 30, 2013.
Andrea "Andi" Murez, is an Israeli-American Olympic swimmer. She swam for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She will represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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, Barbados, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Malta, Morocco, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Trinidad. The athletes competed in 45 sports.
The 2022 Maccabiah Games took place in Israel from July 14–25, 2022, and are also referred to as the 21st Maccabiah Games. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. Israeli former Olympic judo medalist Arik Zeevi served as Maccabiah Chairman. Approximately 10,000 athletes from 80 countries competed in 42 sports categories.
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