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 ...

competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, China. This was Israel's fourteenth participation in the Summer Olympics. Israel sent 43 athletes to compete in Beijing, the largest Israeli delegation in Olympic history, with the previous record having been 40 in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, and was broken 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 ...

with 47. The Olympic team was split 23 men and 20 women, which is the largest share of women in Israel's summer Olympic history. This was the youngest delegation in Israel's Olympic history, with about half the team under the age of 23, and many of them were expected to reach their peak in time for the 2012 Olympics in London. Shooter

Guy Starik Guy Starik (born May 3, 1965) is an Israeli sport shooter who has competed in four Olympics. He has won gold medals in shooting at both the European Championships and at four World Cups, and shares the world record in the 50 meter rifle prone co ...

became the second Israeli in Olympic history to participate in 4 Olympic Games. Three athletes made their third Olympic appearance:

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the M ...

er Aleksandr Averbukh, who has two European championship titles, two world championship medals and two Olympic finals in his resume, judoka

Ariel Ze'evi Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi ( he, אריאל "אריק" זאבי, born 16 January 1977) is a retired Israeli dan 6 black belt in Judo. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight Judo competitions. He is an Olympic bronze medal fin ...

, three-times European champion and bronze medalist in

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), ...

, and canoer

Michael Kolganov Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, he, מיכאל (מישה) קולגנוב, russian: Михаил Калганов; born October 24, 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former world champion (1998–99). Competing in th ...

, former world champion and bronze medalist in

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, who was the flagbearer for Israel in the opening ceremony. 12 other athletes made their second Olympic appearance, while 27 athletes made their Olympic debut at Beijing. Israel made its Olympic debut in Beijing in the team event in

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

, women's épée in fencing, women's one-person dinghy (Laser Radial) in sailing, and women's doubles in tennis. Among the medal hopefuls were

, and also

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 ...

and

Gideon Kliger Gideon "Gidi" Kliger (born March 30, 1980) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a three-time bronze medallist at the sailing world championships. Biography Kliger was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He started sailing and competing when he was 8 yea ...

, 3-times world bronze medalists in sailing 470 class,

Shahar Tzuberi Shahar Tzuberi (or Zubari, he, שחר צוברי; born September 1, 1986) is an Israeli windsurfer and Olympic bronze medalist, surfing in the "Neil Pryde" RS:X discipline. He is a nephew of Gad Tsobari, the 1972 Olympic wrestler who escaped f ...

, world bronze medalist in sailboard Neil Pryde RS:X class, and tennis men's double team

Jonathan Erlich Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich ( he, יונתן דאריו "יוני" ארליך, born 5 April 1977) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the ...

and

Andy Ram Andreas "Andy" Ram ( he, אנדי רם; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics. He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam ...

, winners of the

2008 Australian Open The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 thr ...

and #3 seeds in the Olympic tournament.

Medalists

Other notable achievements

Results summary

The largest delegation in Israel's Olympic history won just one bronze medal by

in this Olympics, which was below the expectations of the National Olympic committee. However, beside disappointment from failures of medal hopefuls, such as

Arik Ze'evi Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi ( he, אריאל "אריק" זאבי, born 16 January 1977) is a retired Israeli dan 6 black belt in Judo. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight Judo competitions. He is an Olympic bronze medal fina ...

and

, and

and

, there were some fine performances from other athletes. The sailing team was close to win another medal by Vered Buskila and

Nike Kornecki Nike Kornecki (born August 18, 1982) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, and competes in the 470 Class double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centerboard, Bermuda rig, and center sheeting. In 2004, she won a bronze medal in the world champion ...

in women's 470 class, who finished in fourth place, while

Maayan Davidovich Maayan Davidovich ( he, מעין דוידוביץ'; born May 21, 1988) is an Israeli Olympic windsurfer. Biography Davidovich is Jewish, and her hometown is Herzliya, Israel. She competes with the club Hapoel Tel Aviv. She started sailing at th ...

became the first Israeli female windsurfer to place in the top 10. The Gymnasts excelled and recorded first finals in Israel Olympic history by Alex Shatilov, 8th in men's floor (best achievement in artistic gymnastics), the rhythmic team placed sixth on its debut in the team all-around event, while

Irina Risenzon Irina "Ira" Risenzon-Nahmany ( Risenzon, he, אירה ריסנזון; born 14 January 1988) is a retired Hungarian-born Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2008 Grand Prix Final all-around bronze medalist. Early and personal life Irina Risen ...

placed 9th in the rhythmic individual all-around event. Also the 14th place of

Neta Rivkin Neta Rivkin ( he, נטע ריבקין; born June 19, 1991) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of Israel's most successful rhythmic gymnasts. A three-time Olympian, in 2011 she won the silver medal in clubs at the 201 ...

, the youngest member of the Olympic team, was a good achievement. There were plenty of national records in the swimming pool – 11 in 17 races – and 3 swimmers achieved 4 top-16 places between them, more than any previous Olympics. Gal Nevo was the best of them, with 11th place in 400 metres individual medley and 13th place in 200 metres individual medley.

Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or Nimrod Shapira ( he, נמרוד שפירא בר אור; born April 25, 1989) is an Israeli two-time Olympic swimmer, having represented Israel at the 2008 Olympics in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle, and in the 200 m freestyle for Israel a ...

got 15th place in 200 metres freestyle, and Guy Barne'a 16th in 100 metres backstroke. Among the other sports, there was only one notable achievement,

Gal Yekutiel Gal Yekutiel (born November 4, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel) is an Israeli judoka. He competes in the extra lightweight (under 60 kg) weight category. Biography He has represented Israel in the Olympic Games of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

's fifth place in judo, which was beyond the expectations from him. In shooting, 4-times Olympian

came close to the final of the rifle prone event, but a miss on the final shot placed him in 12th place, losing on tie break to the 4 shooters ranked above him. On the down side, all four athletes in track-and-field failed to reach their expected results, all three fencers were eliminated in their first bouts, and four tennis players recorded just one win between them (by

Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reache ...

) before being eliminated.

Athletics

Four athletes represented Israel in Beijing. ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events

Canoeing

Sprint

represented Israel in kayaking. Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Fencing

Delila Hatuel Delila Hatuel ( he, דלילה חטואל; born November 15, 1980) is an Israeli Olympic foil fencer. She represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has been ranked ninth in the world. Biography Delila Hatuel born in Acre, Israel. He ...

Noam Mills Noam Mills ( he, נעם מילס; born May 27, 1986) is an Israeli fencer, who competed in the individual women's épée event for Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She is a three-time junior Israeli champion in épée, and a four-t ...

and

Tomer Or Tomer ( he, תֹּמֶר, , Palm Tree) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley next to the Palestinian village of Fasayil, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. ...

represented Israel.Injured fencer will be able to go to Olympics after hyperbaric oxygen treatmen

/ref> ;Men ;Women

Gymnastics

Artistic

Alexander Shatilov represented Israel. ;Men

Rhythmic

and a team of 5 gymnasts represented Israel.

Judo

3 judoka represented Israel. ;Men ;Women

Sailing

Seven sailors in five boats represented Israel in Beijing. ;Men ;Women

Shooting

Three shooters represented Israel in Beijing Men

Swimming

Seven swimmers represented Israel in the Olympics. ;Men ;Women

Synchronized swimming

Anastasia Gloushkov and

Inna Yoffe Inna Yoffe ( he, אינה יופה; born February 8, 1988) is an Israeli Olympic synchronized swimmer. Biography Yoffe is Jewish, and was born in the Soviet Union. She and the Israeli synchronized swimming team train in Jerusalem. She swims fo ...

represented Israel.

Taekwondo

Bat-El Gatterer Bat-El Gatterer ( he, בת אל גטרר; born February 4, 1988) is an Israeli Olympic taekwondo athlete. She was the women's 2010 European featherweight champion. Biography Gatterer was born in and lived in the Israeli settlement of Kokhav Ya'a ...

competed in Taekwondo.

Tennis

Tzipora Obziler Tzipora "Tzipi" Obziler ( he, ציפורה אובזילר; born 19 April 1973) is a former Israeli professional right-handed tennis player. She reached her career-high singles world ranking of No. 75 in on 8 July 2007, and career-high doubles r ...

and

competed in tennis.

References

External links

Official website of the 2008 Summer Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel At The 2008 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Summer Olympics 2008