HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
has competed at the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
as a nation since 1952. Its
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
was formed in 1933, during the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...
. Israel has sent a team to each
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
since 1952 (except when they participated in the
American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...
), and to each
Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
since 1994. The country became a member of the
European Olympic Committees The European Olympic Committees is an organisation based in Rome, Italy, consisting of 50 National Olympic Committees from the continent of Europe.EOC members include transcontinental countries Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as Israel, ...
(EOC) in 1994.


Medal tables


Medals by Summer Games


Medals by Winter Games

* Bold — Highest in column.


Medals by summer sport


List of medalists


History

In 1933 the Palestine National Olympic Committee was officially formed, and was recognized by the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
in May 1934, despite never competing (the 1936 games were held in Nazi Germany and were boycotted by this Jewish Olympic committee, while the 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to WWII). Although the Palestine National committee represented
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
living in British-ruled
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
, its rules stated that they "represent dthe Jewish National Home." In 1948, shortly after the State of Israel was established, its request to participate in the 1948 Olympics was denied, as Mandatory Palestine had ceased to exist and the newly formed State of Israel wasn't yet recognized by IOC. Israel was previously part of the
Asian Games Federation The Asian Games Federation (AGF) was the governing body of sports in Asia from 1949 to 1982. The federation was disbanded on 16 November 1982 in New Delhi and succeeded by the Olympic Council of Asia. The AGF was responsible for the organisation ...
until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 instead of joining the new
Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarters ...
, Israel opted to join the
European Olympic Committees The European Olympic Committees is an organisation based in Rome, Italy, consisting of 50 National Olympic Committees from the continent of Europe.EOC members include transcontinental countries Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as Israel, ...
.


Competing

Israel won its first Olympic medal in its tenth Olympic appearance, in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
, in
Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...
when Yael Arad won a silver medal. She was followed a day later by another judoka,
Oren Smadja Shay-Oren Smadja ( he, אורן סמדג'ה; born June 20, 1970) is a former Israeli judoka and a judo coach. Smadja won the Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli man to win an Olympic medal, and t ...
, who won bronze. Since then, Israel won a bronze medal in five successive Summer Olympics until the streak ended in 2012. Additionally, in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
,
Gal Fridman Gal Fridman (or Friedman, he, גל פרידמן; born September 16, 1975) is an Israeli windsurfer and Israel's first Olympic gold medalist. Fridman won a Bronze Medal in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, and his gold medal in the Athens 2004 ...
became Israel's first gold medallist, in men's windsurfing. This was his second medal, following his bronze in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, and he is the only individual multi-medallist. Israel also won 2 bronze medals in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. In the postponed 2020 Games Israel received 2 gold medals, won by
Artem Dolgopyat Artem Olegovich Dolgopyat ( he, ארטיום אולגוביץ' דולגופיאט; ukr, Артем Олегович Долгопят; born 16 June 1997) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli artistic gymnast. He is the 2020 Olympic champion on floor e ...
in men's gymnastics (floor routine), and
Linoy Ashram Linoy Ashram ( he, לינוי אשרם; born ) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 World All-around silver medalist, two-time (2017, 2019) World All-around bronze medalist, the ...
in women's rhythmic gymnastics (individual all-around), and 2 bronze medals, one won by Avishag Semberg in
taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
, and 1 won by the judo Mixed team. As a member of the Israel national judo Mixed team,
Ori Sasson Or "Ori" Sasson ( he, אור "אורי" ששון; born 18 August 1990) is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the se ...
became Israel's second multi-medalist, while the latter bronze one is a shared one. Through 2018, Israel has not won any medals in the Winter Olympics.
Ágnes Keleti Ágnes Keleti (''né'' Klein; 9 January 1921) is a Hungarian-Israeli retired Olympic and world champion artistic gymnast and coach. She is the oldest living Olympic champion and medalist, reaching her 100th birthday January 9, 2021. While repres ...
, who emigrated to Israel in 1957, holds more medals than any other Israeli citizen. During the
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
and
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...
Ágnes won 10 medals competing for
Hungary at the Olympics Hungary first participated at the Olympic Games at the inaugural 1896 Games, and has sent athletes to compete in most Summer Olympic Games and every Winter Olympic Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1920 Games for its role in Wo ...
. The only Jew to hold more medals than Keleti is American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won 11. Israel has been more successful at the
Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
than at the Olympics, with 375 medals between 1960 and 2016.


Conflicts with nations


1972 Summer Olympics

Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the
Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members ...
. The tragedy caused the Israeli delegation to withdraw from the remainder of the Games. The murdered people were: * David Berger, 28, weightlifter *
Ze'ev Friedman Ze'ev Friedman (10 June 1944 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli flyweight weightlifter. A member of the Israeli Olympic team, he was killed in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Biography Ze'ev Friedman was born in Prokopyevsk, Soviet Unio ...
, 28, weightlifter * Yossef Gutfreund, 40, wrestling referee *
Eliezer Halfin Eliezer Halfin (18 June 1948 – 6 September 1972) was a Latvian-born wrestler with the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Along with 10 other athletes and coaches he was taken hostage and later murdered by Pal ...
, 24, wrestler *
Yossef Romano Yossef Romano ( he, יוסף רומנו; 15 April 1940 – 5 September 1972), also known as Joseph Romano or Yossi Romano, was a Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter with the Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Ger ...
, 32, weightlifter *
Amitzur Shapira Amitzur Shapira ( he, עמיצור שפירא; 9 July 1932 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli sprinter and long jumper. He was head coach for the Israeli track and field team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He was murdered by ...
, 40, track coach * Kehat Shorr, 53, shooting coach * Mark Slavin, 18, wrestler *
Andre Spitzer Andre Spitzer ( he, אנדרי שפיצר; 4 July 1945 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by terrorists ...
, 27, fencing coach *
Yakov Springer Yakov Springer (June 10 1921 – 6 September 1972) was a wrestler and a weightlifting coach and judge, but is best known as one of the victims of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. During the Holocaust, Springer took part in War ...
, 51, weightlifting judge *
Moshe Weinberg Moshe Weinberg ( he, משה ויינברג sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestler who was the coach of the national team, as well the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He began his career in Hapoel Haifa. He ...
, 33, wrestling coach On 3 August 2016, two days prior to the start of the
2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
, the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
officially honored the Israelis killed for the first time. They were also honored during the Opening Ceremonies of the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
.


1980 Summer Olympics

Israel was one of the countries that boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest at the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
, but also because of Soviet opposition to Israel and
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
.


2004 Summer Olympics

An Iranian judoka,
Arash Miresmaeili Arash Miresmaeili ( fa, آرش میراسماعیلی , born March 3, 1981 in Khorramabad) is an Iranian judoka. He now serves as the President of the Iranian Judo Federation. World Judo Championships He won the gold medal in two World Judo Cha ...
, did not compete in a match against Israeli
Ehud Vaks Ehud "Udi" Vaks ( he, אהוד "אודי" וקס; born 27 June 1979) is an Israeli judoka. Vaks won a bronze medal at the 1998 under-20 World Judo Championships in the under 60 kg weight class. 2004 Olympics In the 2004 Summer Olympics, ...
during the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, due to the government of Iran having taken steps to avoid any competition between its athletes and those from Israel. He was officially disqualified for being overweight, however Miresmaeli was awarded US$125,000 in prize money by the Iranian government, an amount paid to all Iranian gold medal winners. The
International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...
conducted an investigation to see if he intentionally came in overweight in order to miss the bout. He was officially cleared of intentionally avoiding the bout, but his receipt of the prize money raised suspicion.


2016 Summer Olympics

Saudi Arabian judoka, Joud Fahmy, forfeited her match in the
2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
possibly in order to avoid competing against Israeli
Gili Cohen Gili Cohen ( he, גילי כהן; born June 19, 1991) is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. In 2013, she won the silver medal at the European U23 Championships, and she was a bronze medalist at the 2014 European Judo Championships. She compe ...
. Later in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Israeli Or Sasson defeated Egyptian judoka Islam El Shahaby in the first round, after the match ended, Sasson tried to shake his opponent's hand, but El Shahaby refused. Prior to the 2016 opening ceremony, the Lebanese delegation was assigned to ride on the same bus as the Israeli delegation. The head of the Lebanese team, Salim al-Haj Nicolas, admitted that he demanded that the bus door be closed on the Israeli team, and that the Lebanese demanded that the Israeli athletes not board the bus.
Udi Gal Udi Gal ( he, אודי גל; born June 11, 1979) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a sailing world championship three-time bronze medalist. Biography Gal is Jewish, and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He started sailing at 8 years of age, and ...
, an Israeli Olympic sailor, said his team ultimately decided to travel separately to avoid an "international and physical incident" but added "How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?"Rio 2016 Olympics: Lebanese athletes refuse to travel with Israel team
/ref>


Olympic participants


Summer Olympics


Winter Olympics


See also

* Israel at the Paralympics * List of flag bearers for Israel at the Olympics *
Sport in Israel Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) - with the first ...
*
Jewish Olympics The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
*
Antisemitism in the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics, are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are co ...
* Boycotts of Israel in sports


References


External links

* * * {{Olympic medalists for Israel