Andrea Murez of the US set a new Maccabiah record on her way to a second gold medal in as many days in the new swimming pool at Wingate Institute on Monday.Murez clocked a time of 2:00.63 minutes in the 200- meter freestyle final a day after winning the 100m. free.Murez’s closest rival, Martina Marks of Israel, touched the wall almost four seconds after the American winner.The Israelis swept the medals in the men’s 200m. free final, with Alexei Konovalov winning in a time in 1:51.34m. Ido Haber came in second (1:52.47m), edging Olympian Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or (1:52.49m).Elsewhere, the field hockey competition continued in Ra’anana on Monday. There are only four teams competing in the women’s event this year: Holland, Argentina, Germany and the USA. Nevertheless, that has done nothing to damper their enthusiasm.Team Holland is considered the favorite to win the gold in the Maccabiah, with field hockey being one of the most popular sports in the country.Sophie Klooster, 23, who was also selected to participate in the Maccabiah’s marketing campaign as one of its presenters, scored two goals against Germany in Holland’s 5-0 win and is proud to be playing in Israel in what is her second Maccabiah.“The first time I came to Israel because my grandparents told me I should go,” she said. “I really liked the idea of the Jewish connection, and I love connecting with other people. I never saw most of them, but it feels we have already met before.”Klooster’s family has a rich sports background, with her father playing professional ice hockey and her younger sister Teddy following in her path and also playing for the Dutch field hockey team.Klooster said she has considered making aliya, but it doesn’t seem like she plans on doing so anytime soon.“I thought about it but not too seriously,” she said. “But after being here on vacation I started considering it more seriously...In Holland everyone plays field hockey. Maybe my sister and I will bring the game to Israel.”
