The 2024 Olympics, which ended in Paris with a trippy closing ceremony this past Sunday, was a historic one for Israel, and not only because it was an Olympics in the aftermath of October 7 and in the midst of the Israel-Hamas War, which touched every one of the athletes who attended the competition. It wasn’t Israel’s biggest Olympic delegation, but it did end up being the most decorated one in the country’s history at the games. Israel won seven medals, more than it has ever won in one Olympics, and a number that feels especially significant this year. Three of the medals were in one day, August 4, the biggest day in Israeli Olympic history.
Israeli athletes won one gold medal, five silver medals and one bronze. Three of the medals were for Judo, two for sailing, and two for gymnastics. Of the medalists, three are men and eight are women. It placed the country on the 41st spot for most medals.
The first medals were awarded on August 1 to Inbar Lanir and Peter Falchik — who both already have a Bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics. Lanir’s story of post-October 7 generosity went viral after she won a Silver medal in the 78 kg field. The athlete volunteered to cook and take care of the children of a neighbor whose husband was away on military duty.
“Instead of training for the Olympics, she’s babysitting,” Sheizaf Tal Meshulam shared in a now-viral Facebook post. “So just know that behind a well-deserved medal stands a woman with a heart of gold.” Lanir, who wasn’t allowed to wear any political insignia during her match per Olympic guidelines, did put a yellow hair tie in her hair, an echo to the ribbon that many in Israel and beyond wear as an act of solidarity and a call for the release of Israelis held hostage in Gaza.
Judoka Peter Falchik broke down in tears in a post-match interview and dedicated his bronze to his coach Oren Smadga’s son, Omer, who was killed in action in the war. Oren was the second Israeli to ever win an Olympics medal in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona — a bronze medal, just like Falchik’s.
“It’s not to be taken for granted… we worked so hard for this moment. That Oren is here, after everything he went through… for Omer, I couldn’t give up, not even for one second,” Falchik said in a Channel 5 interview, pulling Smadga close as they both wiped tears off their eyes.
The third medal was awarded to Raz Hershko in the +78 women’s field. Hershko, who is queer, won over Israelis with her authenticity and joy. A video of her on the podium urging the Brazilian gold medalist to smile went viral in the country. In a TV interview, her mother talked about how she signed her up for a free judo class at the local community center, and that the rest of her daughter’s success is all of her own making. Hershko also opened up about her struggles as a teen, being short and round, having glasses, and practicing what was considered a man’s sport. But she says that she learned that the most important thing was to be herself — the gym was always her happy place.
In a full circle moment, it was Yael Arad who both consoled Hershko after her loss to Brazilian Beatriz Souza and also awarded her that silver medal. Arad, the President of the Olympic Committee of Israel, was the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal in the 1992 Olympics. Like Lanir and Hershko, she won a silver medal in her weight category.
On August 3, Israel nabbed its first and only gold medal this Olympics in sailing. Tom Reuveny, in the men’s iQFoil, won the medal 20 years after his coach, Gal Friedman, nabbed the same medal in wind sailing. Sharon Kantor, 21, won a silver for Women’s iQFoil sailing after winning the iQFoil world championship earlier this year. Gymnast Artem Dolgopyat, the defending gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won silver in a very close race in men’s floor exercise. On October 7, 2023, Dolgopiyat became the world champion in the floor exercise at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
“When I stood at the podium I had tears in my eyes, not from joy but because of what was happening in Israel,” Dolgopyat recalled. He stood in front of the crowd at the championship with an Israeli flag with black ribbons taped to it. When he got back home, he volunteered to help those affected by the October 7 attack, but he didn’t feel like it was enough, so Dolgopyat decided to sell off his medal and use the proceeds to help the Southern towns affected by October 7. “I will happily give the thing that is most precious to me for the country that is most precious to me,” he shared.
The last medal Israel won was a silver in women’s rhythmic group all-around. Comprised of athletes Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki and Shani Bakanov, they won their first-ever gold medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Valencia, Spain. They won their Olympic medal during a tense final in which the Israeli group was the last to go on the floor with the ribbons and ball exercise. They knocked Italy out of second place and Bulgaria out of third place, placing second after the Chinese team. The gymnasts did their hoop exercise to a version of the Passover song “Who Knows One,” wearing blue and yellow outfits featuring an evil eye.
One of their first congratulations calls came from retired gymnast Linoy Ashram, won the gold medal at the women’s all-around individual rhythmic gymnastics competition in Tokyo. Ashram coached the Israeli contestant in women’s individual rhythmic gymnastics, Daria Atamanov, who came in at a very impressive 5th place. Her highest rated segment, the ribbons exercise, was done to the tune of “Shir L’Maalot.”
Gilad Lustig, secretary general of Israel’s Olympic committee, underlined the significance of Israel winning seven medals in the wake of October 7.
“This is our victory over what happened on Oct. 7,” Lustig told Haaretz. “From the bottom of our hearts, from every team of ours, from all the people that accompanied this. The feeling of our mission is much greater, and we can seal it with the story of the seven medals. There is nothing more symbolic than that.”
Israel now has a total of 20 Olympic medals, 18 of which are in judo, sailing and gymnastics (one medal was in canoeing, and another in Taekwondo).
The Olympics have long been bittersweet for Israel, which has participated in the games since 1952, and completed 18 games. In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were killed in the Munich massacre, after an attack by Palestinian terrorists. This year, Adidas drew wide criticism when it decided to bring back its sneaker from that year in a campaign led by Palestinian American model Bella Haddid (the German brand did also have Nazi ties).
Another athlete had the 1972 Olympics on her mind this year — Amit Elor, now the youngest American Olympic gold medalist in wrestling history. The athlete, whose parents are both Israeli, is known for her candid social media presence, but has been very quiet about her Jewish and Israeli identity before and during the games (though she did share a Hebrew message with her Israeli fans after her win during an interview).
“It’s important for me to be true to myself. I want to be real,” Elor shared with JTA earlier this summer. “Everything in me wanted to speak up and express how I feel about the situation, but there are things I completely avoid — especially after 1972 in Munich, what happened to Israeli athletes. It’s just not smart for me at the moment.”
But this Thursday, Elor broke her silence on the antisemitic comments she’s been getting, and shared a proudly Jewish video in response to a hateful commenter who told her she belonged in the gas chambers.
“80 years ago, my grandparents survived the Holocaust,” the athlete, wearing a yellow ribbon pin for the hostages, shared on TikTok, “but antisemitism is still all around us. My grandparents won, I won, humanity will win — never again.”
