The Maccabiah Games in Israel are one of the largest sporting events on the planet, and our own Maoz Alsberg journeyed back to his homeland to take them all in.
Held every 4 years, the Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. And they’re still going on as I write this: 10,000 athletes from 80 countries are competing in 42 sports from July 14 to July 27.
What’s that I hear? You haven’t heard of the Maccabiah Games before?
President Biden attended the opening ceremonies. Anthony Ervin competed this year joining many of our Olympians that came before him. Before Mark Spitz earned his first Olympic gold, he won 10 Maccabiah gold medals.
First held in 1932, the Maccabiah Games were named for ancient Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee from the village of Modi’in who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire from 167–160 BCE [okay, you got me, I am reading from Wikipedia…].
To say Maoz did well this week would be a supreme understatement. He competed in several Long Course Meters (50m) Masters events at the amazing Wingate Institute aquatic facility located at the southern edge of Netanya.
In his repertoire were the 50m Free, 4x50m Medley Relay (gold), 4x50m Free Relay (gold), and the 50m Back (gold).
50m Free – On Thursday, Maoz nabbed 4th overall in the 50-54 age group with a time of 27.45 after a start that he admitted did not go as planned. Maybe it was that wedding celebration the night before…
4×50 Medley Relay – The 50 Free was just a warmup. Maoz came roaring back, capturing his first GOLD in the Games for his part in the medley relay – swimming backstroke ahead of his ISR relay mates: Maor Sasson (breast), Roman Titinshnider (fly), and Perkis Zafrir (free). Their time in the 200-239 cumulative age group was an enviable 2:04.67.
4×50 Free Relay – On Friday, he was golden again for his part in the free relay. His ISR Club’s squad finished with a time of 1:49.22, easily out distancing the other teams. Maoz swam third with a great split: 26.75. His relay mates Shay Kudish, Perkis Zafrir, and Ido Kaufstein were thrilled to have him on their relay.
Note Ido’s reaction time on the last leg. A few hundredths faster and the relay would have been DQ’d for a false start.
50m Back – Maoz’s first individual GOLD came in the 50 Back with a dazzling time of 31.92, nearly a half second faster than the second place finisher!
Well done, Maoz! You did us all proud!! And your photos make us want to visit your wonderful country in the near future. Cheers, my friend.
— Carl Haynie
