2001 Maccabiah Games
Encyclopedia
For the 2001 16th Maccabiah Games
, the Opening Ceremony was held in Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium, while the re-building process of the collapsed bridge
and investigations into the collapse continued.
It is considered a 'smaller games' for three reasons: attendance was significantly lower, particularly from the Australia
ns (it sent only about 170 athletes, compared with around 400 in 1997); it was run at the height of the Second Intifada
(and straight after the infamous Dolphinarium bombing
—the largest of the Intifada—that killed 21 Israelis, mostly high school students); and not all wounds had been healed after the collapse of the bridge.
The 16th Maccabiah attracted more than 5,000 athletes from 46 countries.
The 2001 games opened with a sellout crowd of more than 25,000 spectators. Keren Leibovitch
, an Israeli paralympic swimmer who had won three gold medals at the 2000 Paralympics, was given the honor of lighting the torch at the Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
The Games saw the addition of juniors futsal
and girls’ soccer, as well as the return of women’s basketball.
At the opening of the Games on July 16, 2001, Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon
declared:
U.S. Olympic swimming gold medal
ist and former world record holder, Lenny Krayzelburg
, earned gold and set a new Maccabiah record in the 100-meter backstroke
. He also won a gold medal in the 4 X 100M medley relay. Krayzelburg passed up going to the world championships in Japan to participate in the Maccabiah, and was selected to carry in the flag for the United States at the opening ceremonies.http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:_n1hhBxR-gYJ:www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php%3Fid%3D7248+2001+%22Maccabiah+Games%22+gold+silver+bronze+russia+israel&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us
Russia
n Olympic fencing gold medalists Sergei Scharikov and Maria Mazina
, coached by former Soviet Olympic fencing gold medalist Mark Rakita
, won Maccabiah gold medals in men's sabre and women's foil. Vadim Gutzeit
of Ukraine
, who nine years earlier won an Olympic gold medal in team sabre, won a silver medal in sabre, as he lost to Scharikov. Jonathan Tiomkin
of the US, who later was a Pan American Games
gold medalist, won silver medals in team foil and team épée.
France
Robert Bensimon leader of tennis French Delegation has add many medals again in Senior Category. Simon Amram had obtained medals in his category. We can underline the success of South African players in Junior Tennis Tournament. One player makes the uninamity: the Israeli tennis player Mike Geraldes.
We have to take into account the fantastic record of brown medal gained in tennis double by the french pair "Jeremie's" Pair composed by the Magician Jeremy Benkemoun and the solid experienced player Jeremie Cohen from Toulouse in an epic match finished on the night against the first United States composed by Leslie/Sawyer.
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah is an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics held in Israel every four years under the auspices of the Maccabi Federation, affiliated with the Maccabi World Union. The Maccabiah Games is the third largest international sports competition in the world...
, the Opening Ceremony was held in Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium, while the re-building process of the collapsed bridge
Maccabiah bridge collapse
The Maccabiah bridge collapse was the catastrophic failure of a pedestrian bridge over the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 14, 1997. The collapse of the temporary wooden structure killed four and injured 60 Australian athletes who were visiting Israel to participate in the Maccabiah Games...
and investigations into the collapse continued.
It is considered a 'smaller games' for three reasons: attendance was significantly lower, particularly from the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
ns (it sent only about 170 athletes, compared with around 400 in 1997); it was run at the height of the Second Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
(and straight after the infamous Dolphinarium bombing
Dolphinarium massacre
The Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing was a terrorist attack by on June 1, 2001 in which a suicide bomber Saeed Hotari, a millitant linked to the Palestinian group Hamas, blew himself up outside a discotheque on a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israeli teenagers and injuring 132...
—the largest of the Intifada—that killed 21 Israelis, mostly high school students); and not all wounds had been healed after the collapse of the bridge.
The 16th Maccabiah attracted more than 5,000 athletes from 46 countries.
The 2001 games opened with a sellout crowd of more than 25,000 spectators. Keren Leibovitch
Keren Leibovitch
Keren Or Leibovitch is an Israeli champion Paralympic swimmer.Leibovitch is a three-time world champion, a five-time European champion, a holder of three world records , and an eight-time Paralympic medal winner...
, an Israeli paralympic swimmer who had won three gold medals at the 2000 Paralympics, was given the honor of lighting the torch at the Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
The Games saw the addition of juniors futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
and girls’ soccer, as well as the return of women’s basketball.
At the opening of the Games on July 16, 2001, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
declared:
"Approximately 2,100 years ago, the Maccabeeshttp://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:QH7ho71lVFEJ:www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Cline-Use-Abuse_of_Ancient_Conflicts_2.htm+maccabiah+bar+revolt&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=usMaccabeesThe Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
lit the torch in Modi'in and carried it to the gates of Jerusalem, in the Jewish people's struggle for freedom in its homelandHomelandA homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
. The same fire of freedom and faith, which was not extinguished during 2,000 years, is, today, passed on to you.... You represent the spirit of the Maccabees who fought for Jerusalem and for Jewish rights and independence 2,167 years ago."
U.S. Olympic swimming gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
ist and former world record holder, Lenny Krayzelburg
Lenny Krayzelburg
Lenny Krayzelburg is an American backstroke swimmer, and Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder. He swam in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He won a total of 4 Olympic gold medals....
, earned gold and set a new Maccabiah record in the 100-meter backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
. He also won a gold medal in the 4 X 100M medley relay. Krayzelburg passed up going to the world championships in Japan to participate in the Maccabiah, and was selected to carry in the flag for the United States at the opening ceremonies.http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:_n1hhBxR-gYJ:www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php%3Fid%3D7248+2001+%22Maccabiah+Games%22+gold+silver+bronze+russia+israel&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Olympic fencing gold medalists Sergei Scharikov and Maria Mazina
Maria Mazina
Maria Mazina is a Russian women's épée fencer.-Fencing career:Mazina began fencing at the age of 12.Mazina, who is Jewish, is a 5-time world women's épée champion.-Olympics:She won a team bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics...
, coached by former Soviet Olympic fencing gold medalist Mark Rakita
Mark Rakita
Mark Semenovich Rakita is a famed Russian sabreur and coach from the Soviet era.-Fencing career:Rakita started fencing at 14. He practiced daily for between three – six hours a day. A 1969 graduate of The Daghestan State Pedagogical Institute, Rakita earned the title of Master of the Sport in...
, won Maccabiah gold medals in men's sabre and women's foil. Vadim Gutzeit
Vadim Gutzeit
Vadim Gutzeit is an Ukrainian Olympic sabre fencer.-World Championships:...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, who nine years earlier won an Olympic gold medal in team sabre, won a silver medal in sabre, as he lost to Scharikov. Jonathan Tiomkin
Jonathan Tiomkin
Jonathan Tiomkin is an American foil fencer.Tiomkin played competitive youth tennis before trying fencing.-High School:...
of the US, who later was a Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
gold medalist, won silver medals in team foil and team épée.
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Robert Bensimon leader of tennis French Delegation has add many medals again in Senior Category. Simon Amram had obtained medals in his category. We can underline the success of South African players in Junior Tennis Tournament. One player makes the uninamity: the Israeli tennis player Mike Geraldes.
We have to take into account the fantastic record of brown medal gained in tennis double by the french pair "Jeremie's" Pair composed by the Magician Jeremy Benkemoun and the solid experienced player Jeremie Cohen from Toulouse in an epic match finished on the night against the first United States composed by Leslie/Sawyer.
Participating Communities
The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.| (170) (115) | (300) | (138) (54) (1,300) | (160) (387) |
Medal count
| 1 |  Israel |
223 | 192 | 159 | 574 |
| 2 |  United States |
34 | 54 | 61 | 149 |
| 3 |  Russia |
22 | 15 | 18 | 55 |