Comprised of 47 athletes who will be competing in 17 different sports categories, Israel's delegation to the Rio Olympics is the largest delegation ever sent by the country since it first participated in the Games of the XV Olympiad held in Helsinki in 1952.
For the first time, Israel will compete in categories such as golf, triathlon, women's wrestling and mountain biking. The delegation also includes 34 coaches and a support team of an additional 25 people.
Israel has won a total of seven medals in the seven Olympiads in which it has participated. The only gold medal awarded was to windsurfer Gal Fridman, in Athens 2004.
Gymnast Neta Rivkin will carry the Israeli flag at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday, August 5 2016. Rivkin, one of Israel's most prominent athletes, is also one of the country’s greatest Olympic hopes. She finished in 7th place in her category at the 2012 London Olympics and is one of the select group of Israeli athletes who have participated in more than one Olympic Games.
The Israeli Olympic delegation posing with the president, Reuven Rivlin. Photo courtesy Israel Olympic Committee.
Another Olympic hopeful is windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "I have very good chances. I feel in good shape", said Tzuberi to ISRAEL21C website.
Gymnast Alex Shatilov is another highlight of the delegation. He won the gold medal at the 2013 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Moscow, as well as several other awards. Shatilov competed in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, making Rio 2016 the third Olympiad he is participating in.
The Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team is also one of Israel's hopes. In July the team won the gold medal at the Gymnastics World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, and has excelled in competitions around the world.
Israel's rhythmic gymnastics team. Photo courtesy Israel Olympic Committee.
Among the newcomers is wrestler Ilana Kratysh, the first Israeli to participate in the Women's Wrestling category. Golfer Laetitia Beck will also make history by competing for the first time, in a category that was absent from the Games for decades.
Israeli medalists since 1952:
The Philatelic Service of the Israel Postal Company issued a series of commemorative stamps in honor of the Israeli athletes participating in the 2016 Olympics.The stamps depict Athletics, Judo and Windsurfing, the categories in which Israel has won medals in past Olympic Games.
Some of the commemorative stamps issued by the Israel Postal Company
Below is a list of the Israeli athletes participating in the Rio Olympics. The names of athletes who have participated in previous games are italicized:
Athletics (8):· Tesama Moogas and Maor Tiyouri (marathon)
·
Donald Sanford (400-meter dash)
· Dmitry Kroytor (high jump)
· Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko (triple jump)
· Lonah Chemtai Korlima
· Ageze Guadie
· Marhu Teferi
Badminton (1):·
Misha ZilbermanCycling (2):· Shani Bloch Davidov (women's road race)
· Shlomi Haimy (men's cross country)
Golf (1):· Laetitia Beck
Gymnastics (7):·
Alexander Shatilov (artistic)
·
Neta Rivkin (rhythmic individual)
· Alona Koshevatskiy, Ekaterina Levina, Karina Lykhvar, Ida Mayrin and Yuval Filo (rhythmic team)
Judo (7):·
Golan Pollack· Sagi Muki
· Ori Sasson
· Shira Rishony
· Gili Cohen
· Yarden Gerbi
· Linda Bolder
Sailing/Windsurfing (6):·
Shahar Tzuberi· Maayan Davidovich
· Gil Cohen
· Nina Amir
· Dan Froyliche
· Eyal Levin
Shooting (1):·
Sergey Richter Swimming (7):· Ziv Kalontorov (50m freestyle)
·
Gal Nevo (200m individual medley)
·
Yakov-Yan Toumarkin (backstroke, individual medley)
·
Amit Ivry (100m backstroke)
· Andrea Murez (50m and 100m freestyle)
· Zohar Shikler (50m freestyle)
· Keren Siebner
Synchronized Swimming (2):·
Anastasia Glushkov and Yevgeniya Tetelbaum (synchronized swimming)
Taekwondo (1):· Ron Atias
Tennis (1):· Dudi Sela
Triathlon (1):· Ron Darmon
Weightlifting (1):· Igor Olshanetskyi
Wrestling (1):· Ilana Kratysh