Israel to send its largest delegation to 2020 Olympics
So far, among others, Israeli athletes have qualified to compete in equestrian show jumping, baseball, shooting and rhythmic gymnastics.
By AARON REICHISRAEL’S NATIONAL baseball team qualified last week for the 2020 Toyko Olympics, an incredible accomplishment and the culmination of years of hard work to assemble a top-notch squad to compete next year against the world's best.(photo credit: MARGO SUGARMAN)
The Israeli delegation to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is going to be the biggest the country has ever assembled.At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Israel boasted its largest delegation then, sending 47 athletes to represent the country in 17 sports.In 2020, however, there will be a whopping total of 85 athletes competing in 18 sports on behalf of the blue and white flag.“This is a crazy number by Israeli standards,” said Vered Buskila, vice president of the Olympic Committee of Israel, as reported by the news site NoCamels.A three-time Olympic sailor, Buskila herself is familiar with the competition.Raised in Bat Yam, she began sailing as a child in the beaches of her hometown and won her first world championship when she was only 15.This firsthand experience as a competitive sailor, she said, means that she understands exactly what the athletes have to face.“Now that I look back, I understand that my talent was determination and persistence,” she explained.“When I won the world championships, it was decided. That’s what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.”The delegation received a significant boost to its numbers when the baseball team made it to the Olympics, adding another 24 athletes to the Israeli delegation.“This is the ultimate dream come true,” said Peter Kurz, Israel Association of Baseball president and general manager of Team Israel in a statement on the IAB website.“It was almost too impossible to imagine, but with the astounding performances of a dedicated team that always believed in itself.”In addition to baseball, Israeli athletes will also represent in several other sports. So far, Israelis are qualified to compete in equestrian show jumping, shooting and rhythmic gymnastics.The last one is especially noteworthy, as one of the qualified athletes, Linoy Ashram, is considered by many to be Israel’s best shot at a medal.The rhythmic gymnast is the 2019 European Games All-around silver medalist and then 2018 World All-around silver medalist. However, more qualifying athletes are likely on the way, with Buskila singling out runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, windsurfer Katy Spychakov and, of course, world champion judoka Sagi Muki.In addition, the Olympic Committee of Israel has even bigger goals: to have 10 athletes in the finals.“In Rio, we had five,” Buskila explained to NoCamels. “We want to double it. We aim to win two medals. We never had more than two medals at the same Olympic games, so maybe this will be our year.”
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