Israel at the Olympics

Last updated
Israel at the
Olympics
Flag of Israel.svg
IOC code ISR
NOC Olympic Committee of Israel
Website www.olympicsil.co.il  (in Hebrew and English)
Medals
Ranked 73rd
Gold
4
Silver
6
Bronze
10
Total
20
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

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 it participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics), and to each Winter Olympic Games since 1994. Israel became a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in 1994. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Israel won seven Olympic medals, the most up until this point, breaking Israel's record for Olympic medals per Olympics.

Contents

Medal tables

Medals by summer sport

SportsGold medal icon.svg GoldSilver medal icon.svg SilverBronze medal icon.svg BronzeTotal Rank
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg  Gymnastics 220430
Sailing pictogram.svg  Sailing 212522
Judo pictogram.svg  Judo 036939
Canoeing (slalom) pictogram.svg  Canoeing 001142
Taekwondo pictogram.svg  Taekwondo 001139
Total46102073

List of medalists

GamesSportEventMedalNameRef.
1992 Barcelona Judo pictogram.svg Judo Women's 61 kg Silver medal icon.svg Silver Yael Arad [2]
Men's 71 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Oren Smadja [3]
1996 Atlanta Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing Men's Mistral One Design Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Gal Fridman [4]
2000 Sydney Canoeing pictogram.svg Canoeing Men's K-1 500 metres Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Michael Kolganov [5]
2004 Athens Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing Men's Mistral One Design Gold medal icon.svg Gold Gal Fridman [4]
Judo pictogram.svg Judo Men's 100 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Ariel Ze'evi [6]
2008 Beijing Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing Men's RS:X Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Shahar Tzuberi [7]
2016 Rio de Janeiro Judo pictogram.svg Judo Women's 63 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Yarden Gerbi [8]
Men's +100 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Or Sasson [9]
2020 Tokyo Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg Gymnastics Men's floor Gold medal icon.svg Gold Artem Dolgopyat [10]
Gymnastics (rhythmic) pictogram.svg Gymnastics Women's rhythmic individual all-around Gold medal icon.svg Gold Linoy Ashram [11]
Taekwondo pictogram.svg Taekwondo Women's 49 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Avishag Semberg [12]
Judo pictogram.svg Judo Mixed team Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Israel national judo team
[13]
2024 Paris Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing Men's iQFoil Gold medal icon.svg Gold Tom Reuveny
Women's iQFoil Silver medal icon.svg Silver Sharon Kantor
Gymnastics pictogram.svg Gymnastics Men's floor Silver medal icon.svg Silver Artem Dolgopyat
Gymnastics (rhythmic) pictogram.svg Gymnastics Women's rhythmic group all-around Silver medal icon.svg Silver
Judo pictogram.svg Judo Women's 78 kg Silver medal icon.svg Silver Inbar Lanir
Women's +78 kg Silver medal icon.svg Silver Raz Hershko
Men's 100 kg Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Peter Paltchik

History

Israeli postal stamp, 1964 Israeli stamps 1964 - Israel at the 1964 Summer Olympics 2.jpg
Israeli postal stamp, 1964

In 1933 the Palestine National Olympic Committee was officially formed, and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in May 1934. [14] It never competed as 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 changed 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

Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik at the 2024 Summer Olympics Judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 kg Awarding ceremony.jpg
Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik at the 2024 Summer Olympics

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 became the first individual multi-medallist, followed in 2024 by Artem Dolgopyat. 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 2022, Israel has not won any medals in the Winter Olympics.

Ágnes Keleti, who immigrated 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 the Black September Organization during the Munich massacre. [21] The tragedy caused the Israeli delegation to withdraw from the remainder of the Games.

The murdered people were:

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

Israeli judoka Ori Sasson Or Sasson - Rio 2016.jpg
Israeli judoka Ori Sasson

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]

2024 Summer Olympics

Algerian Judoka Messaoud Dris missed weight in order to avoid facing Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul, leading to an investigation by the IOC. [29]

Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan, as well as Abderrahmane Boushita from Morocco, refused the courtesy hand shake with their Israeli opponent, judoka Baruch Shmailov, following their matches, [30] with Emomali reportedly yelling Allāhu ʾakbar. [31]

Olympic participants

Summer Olympics

Sport 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Total
Archery 123
Athletics 7185221744954389685
Badminton 11215
Baseball 2424
Basketball 1313
Boxing 2316
Canoeing/Kayaking 1153111
Cycling 222410
Diving 112
Equestrian 448
Fencing 221413113119
Football 19171955
Golf 11
Gymnastics 3153112810710859
Judo 124235357121262
Sailing 215455667765867
Shooting 423421233223111135
Surfing 112
Swimming 114261231541149791318 101
Synchronized swimming 22228
Table tennis 11
Taekwondo 111115
Tennis 141243116
Triathlon 1214
Weightlifting 2311311113
Wrestling 3124133118
Total26323103115273719312541354337479088628

Winter Olympics

Sport 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Total
Alpine Skiing 111126
Figure Skating 1344237327
Short Track Speed Skating 11114
Skeleton 11
Total13553510638

See also

Related Research Articles

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