Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

with its largest contingent to date − a delegation of 90 athletes, 55 men and 35 women, who competed in 15 different sports. This was almost double the previous number of 47 athletes who represented Israel at the

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. The Games were also Israel's most successful to date, winning four medals, including two gold. At Tokyo, Israel marked its Olympic debuts in surfing (new to the 2020 Games), baseball (returning to the Games), archery, equestrian and marathon swimming. Israel returned home from Tokyo with two gold and two bronze medals, a record number of medals won by Israel in one Olympics. Artistic gymnast

Artem Dolgopyat Artem Olegovich Dolgopyat (; ; born 16 June 1997) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli artistic gymnast who specializes in the floor exercise. He is the 2020 Olympic champion and the 2023 World champion in the floor exercise. He also won two sil ...

won the gold medal in the men's floor exercise and rhythmic gymnast

Linoy Ashram Linoy Ashram (; born ) is a retired Israeli individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is the Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's rhythmic individual all-around, 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnas ...

won the gold medal at the women's rhythmic individual all-around event. Taekwondo practitioner

Avishag Semberg Avishag Semberg (or Abishag Samberg, ; born ) is an Israeli Olympic taekwondo athlete. She is an Olympic bronze medalist for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's 49 kg competition. She won Israel's all-time tenth Olympic medal, ...

won the bronze medal in the Women's 49 kg category and the national judo team won another bronze medal in the mixed team event. Several Israeli athletes advanced to the finals of their respective sporting events, but narrowly missed out on standing on the winner's podium. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

until 23 July to 8 August 2021. Since Israel's debut in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, Israeli athletes have appeared in every edition of the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

, other than the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

in Moscow, which it opted not to attend because of the nation's support for the US-led boycott. This was Israel's 17th appearance at the Summer Olympics. Backstroke swimmer

Yakov Toumarkin Yakov Yan Toumarkin (, ; born 15 February 1992) is a Russian-born Israeli Olympic backstroke swimmer. In 2010, he was the European Junior Swimming Champion in the 100-meter backstroke. Swimming career In July 2010, Toumarkin won a gold medal in ...

and triple jumper

Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko Hanna Viktorivna Kniazieva-Minenko (; ; born 25 September 1989) is a former Ukrainian and a current Israeli triple jumper and long jumper. She established a personal best in August 2015 of 14.78 meters (m) in the triple jump while winning the ...

were chosen as the nation's flag bearers at the opening ceremony and

was chosen as the nation's flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Also, for the first time since 11 Israeli athletes and a West German police officer were murdered during the Munich Olympics in 1972 by the Palestinian terrorist group

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

, a

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture o ...

was held during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Medalists

Competitors

The Israeli delegation included 90 athletes, competing in 15 sports. This was

Alexander Shatilov Alexander "Alex" Shatilov (, ; born March 22, 1987) is a USSR-born Israeli artistic gymnast. He specializes in the floor exercise, in which he won several medals at World and European Championships, reached the finals at the 2008 and 2012 Summe ...

's fourth appearance at the Olympics, and

Sergey Richter Sergey Richter (; ; born 23 April 1989) is an Olympic sport shooter. Born in Ukraine, he represents Israel internationally. He shares the junior world record in the 10 metre air rifle, and was the 2009 ISSF World Cup champion. He competed on ...

's,

's, and

Misha Zilberman Misha Zilberman (; ; born 25 January 1989) is an Olympic badminton player. Born in Russia, he competed for Israel at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd, 14th, and 15th respectively, with his 2024 results still to be ...

's third appearance. Nine members of the delegation participated in the games for the second time:

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter (, , born 12 December 1988) is an Israeli Olympic runner. Born in Kenya, she represents Israel internationally. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European A ...

Gili Cohen Gili Cohen (; 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 competed for Israel at th ...

Shlomi Haimy Shlomi Haimy (; born 19 June 1989) is an Israeli road and cross-country cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Continental team . Career In 2007, Haimy came in 7th in the World Men Juniors Cross Country Championships in Fort William, Highland, ...

Sagi Muki Sagi Aharon Muki (or Moki; ; born 17 May 1992) is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Judo Championships – Men's 81 kg, 2019 World Champion. He also won the Judo at the 2015 European Ga ...

Andrea Murez Andrea "Andi" Murez (; born 29 January 1992) is an Olympic swimmer. Born in the United States, she represents Israel internationally and competed for her country of birth in the past. She swam for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 20 ...

Shira Rishony Shira Rishony (; born 21 February 1991) is an Israeli Olympic lightweight judoka. She competes at 48 kg (under 106 pounds). She competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she won a bronze medal in the mixe ...

Or Sasson Or "Ori" Sasson (; 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 mixed team event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was the se ...

Marhu Teferi Maru Abinet Teferi (; ; born 17 August 1992), also known as Teferi Marhu, is an Israeli marathon and half marathon runner, and an Olympian. He won a silver medal in men's marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a silver medal in m ...

, and

Maor Tiyouri Maor Tiyouri (; born 13 August 1990) is an Israeli Olympic long-distance runner, former national record holder of Israel in the 5000 metres, and a six-time Israeli national champion – in the 1500 m (three times), the 3000 m, the 5,000 m, an ...

. This was Alberto Michán's third appearance at the Olympics, but was the first time he represented Israel.

also appeared for the third time at the Olympics, but only for the second time as part of the Israeli delegation. Seven athletes from the delegation had previously participated in the

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

Gal Cohen Groumi Gal Cohen Groumi (; born 22 April 2002) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer. At the 2017 European Youth Olympics he won two silver medals in medley relay, at the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships he won a gold medal in the 4×200 m freesty ...

Anastasia Gorbenko Anastasia "Nastiya" Gorbenko (; born ) is an Israeli competitive swimmer. She competes in the backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and medley. She has won 8 World and European championships gold medals, competed at 2 Olympic finals, broken most ...

Denis Loktev Denis Loktev (; born 6 April 2000) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in the men's 200m freestyle, as well as the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championship in the men's 4x200m freestyle. He com ...

, and

Schedule

This schedule shows all the events in which Israeli athletes have participated or may participate. :''All times and dates use

Japan Standard Time , or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC (UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to a ...

(

UTC+9 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time with ...

)''

Archery

Itay_Shanny_at_the_meeting_of_the_Olympic_delegation_to_the_Tokyo_2020_Summer_Olympics_Games_with_the_President_of_Israel

One Israeli archer qualified directly for the men's individual recurve at the Games, by reaching the quarterfinals and obtaining one of the seven available spots at the 2021 Final Qualification Tournament in Paris, France. This marked Israel's debut in Olympic archery.

Artistic swimming

Israel fielded a squad of two artistic swimmers to compete in the women's duet event, by finishing sixth at the 2021 FINA Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain.

Athletics

Selamawit_Teferi_at_the_meeting_of_the_Olympic_delegation_to_the_Tokyo_2020_Summer_Olympics_Games_with_the_President_of_Israel

Israel_track_and_field_championship_2015_Hanna_Knyazyeva-Minenko_07

Nine Israeli athletes met the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women ;Field events

Badminton

Israel entered two badminton players (one per gender) into the Olympic tournament.

and

Ksenia Polikarpova Ksenia Olegovna Polikarpova (, ; born 11 March 1990) is a Russian-Israeli Olympic badminton player. In 2009, she won a bronze medal at the 2009 European Junior Badminton Championships, European Junior Championships in Milan, Italy. She also won ...

were selected to compete at the Games each in the men's and women's singles based on the BWF World Race to Tokyo Rankings.

Baseball

The current Israel national baseball team that competes at the

is composed mostly of

American Jews American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

with only four Israeli-born players. The

Israel national baseball team The Israel National Baseball Team () represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler. At the 2017 WBC, Team Israel came in 6th. In 2022, Israel was ranked 20th in the world. The Israel national baseball team compete ...

qualified for the Olympics by winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a 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. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 2019 WSBC Africa and Europe Qualification Tournament in Italy and securing an outright berth, marking the country's Olympic debut in baseball. ;Team roster ;Group play ;Round 1 ;Round 2 ;Round 1 repechage

Cycling

Road

Israeli road cyclist

Omer Shapira Omer Shapira (; born 9 September 1994) is an Israeli former professional bicycle racing, racing cyclist. She is an eight-time national road champion; winning the Israeli National Time Trial Championships in 2020 and 2022, and the Israeli National ...

ranked 60th in the Individual

UCI World Ranking The UCI men's road racing world rankings are a points system used to rank men's road cycling riders. Points are awarded based on results in UCI sanctioned races, with points varying widely based on the importance and prestige of the race. The ...

for women with 316.17 points and won a quota for Israel. Shapira also finished 13th at the Women individual time trial event at the

2019 UCI Road World Championships The 2019 UCI Road World Championships was the 92nd edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It took place between 22 and 29 September 2019 in the Historic counties of England, historic c ...

, but after decreasing to one athlete per country, Shapira placed eighth. The first 10 places automatically qualified their country to the women's individual time trial event. The

Israel Cycling Federation The Israel Cycling Federation or ICF (in Hebrew: איגוד האופניים בישראל) is the national governing body of cycle racing in Israel. The ICF is a member of the UCI and the UEC. See also * Cycling in Israel References Extern ...

decided that Shapira would be the Israeli road cyclist representative for the games.

Mountain biking

Israel qualified one men mountain biker based on the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships when

finished in 30th place. Israel was the second-highest ranked country which had not yet qualified any quota places through the UCI Olympic Mountain Biking rankings. The

decided that Haimy would be the Israeli mountain biker representative for the games.

Equestrian

Israel fielded a squad of three equestrian riders in the Olympic team jumping competition. In July 2019, Team Israel's

Daniel Bluman Daniel Bluman (; born 15 March 1990) is an Olympic show jumping rider. Born in Colombia, he represents Israel internationally and competed for his country of birth in the past. Bluman qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in ...

, Ashlee Bond, Danielle G. Waldman, and Elad Yaniv won the Olympic Jumping Qualifier at Maxima Park in Moscow, qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, the first time that Israel has earned a place in the Olympics in equestrian. However, due to a technicality regarding the registration of his horse Gemma W, Bluman was deemed ineligible to compete just weeks prior to the start of the competition. The Israel Equestrian Federation decided that Ashlee Bond, Alberto Michán, Danielle G. Waldman, and Teddy Vlock would represent Israel at the games, with the identity of the three riders who would participate in each day's event to be determined the day before.

Jumping

Danielle G. Waldman and Queensland E have been named the traveling alternates.

Gymnastics

Artistic

Israel entered two

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

s into the Olympic competition. Three-time Olympian

booked a spot in the men's individual all-around and apparatus events, by finishing seventh out of the 12 gymnasts eligible for qualification at the 2019 World Championships in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, while

secured one of the three places available for individual-based gymnasts, neither part of the team nor qualified through the all-around, in the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, considered an apparatus. The floor exercise (English abbreviation FX) is the event performed on the floor, in both women's and men's artistic gymnastics (WAG and MAG). The same flo ...

at the same tournament. Lihie Raz received a spare berth from the women's apparatus event, as one of the female gymnasts from the individual all-around, not yet qualified, at the 2019 World Championships. Raz qualified for the floor final at the

2020 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 33rd European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held from 17 to 20 December 2020 in Mersin, Turkey. The competition was originally scheduled to be held from 30 April to 3 May 2020 in Paris, France, but it was rescheduled due to ...

and thus met the Israeli criteria set by the Israeli Gymnastics Federation and ensured her participation in the Olympic Games. ;Men Internationaux_de_France_2018_-_DOLGOPYAT_Artem

Internationaux_de_France_2018_-_DOLGOPYAT_Artem

;Women

Rhythmic

and Nicol Zelikman secured two quotas for the Israeli delegation by finishing third and eleventh, respectively, at the 2019 World Championships all-around individual event. Also, Israel qualified a squad of

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

s for the group all-around by virtue of finishing within the top-five among National Olympic Committees that are not yet qualified at the 2019 World Championships.

Judo

Israel qualified a squad of 12 judoka (six men and six women) for each of the following weight classes at the Games by the IJF World Ranking List of 28 June 2021. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed Israel National Olympic Judo Mixed Team in 2021

Israel National Olympic Judo Mixed Team in 2021

The Tokyo games hosted the first Judo Mixed team event. Nations qualifying at least one athlete in the −57 (−48, −52 & -57), −70 (−57, −63 & -70) & +70 (−70, −78 & +78) weight categories for women, and at least one athlete in the −73 (−60, −66 & -73), −90 (−73, −81 & -90) & +90 (−90, −100 & +100) weight categories for men, would compete in the team event. The Israeli team has qualified to the event, and won a bronze medal.

Sailing

Israeli sailors qualified three boats in each of the following classes. Gil Cohen and Noa Lasry secured a quota for the Israeli delegation by finishing eleventh in the women's

470 __NOTOC__ Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

event at the

2018 Sailing World Championships The 2018 Hempel Sailing World Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark, from 30 July to 12 August 2018. It was the fifth edition of the Sailing World Championships. It was the world championships for all disciplines used at the next Olympics ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Ofek Elimelech and Mia Morris finished twelfth and fourteenth in their respective RS:X class. Both of these results promised two more quotas for the Israeli delegation. Shay Kakon secured another quota for the Israeli delegation through the Europe

Laser Radial The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance and World sailing approved manufactures. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Rad ...

qualification event in

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal luxury resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle (Algarve), Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Katy Spychakov secured her place on the Israeli squad, after she topped the overall ranking of Israel's selection meets.

Yoav Cohen Yoav Cohen (; born 30 August 1999) is an Israeli windsurfer. In 2020 he won the RS:X European Championships, and In 2021 he represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished 4th in Men's RS:X. Biography His parents are Hananel and ...

finished in fifth place at the 2021 RS:X World Championships and tied with Shahar Tzuberi in Israel's selection ranking. Gur Steinberg, the team's coach, decided that Cohen would be the representative for the Games instead of Zubari, who had been chosen before the postponement of the Olympics. Shahar Tibi and Noya Bar Am were chosen to represent Israel in the 470 event, while Kakon was selected in the women's Laser Radial.

Shooting

Israeli shooter

achieved quota places for the delegation in the men's

10 metre air rifle 10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It is one of the ISSF sports governed in shooting spor ...

, by winning the gold medal at the 2019 European Games. This was his third appearance at the Olympics.

Surfing

Israel sent one surfer to compete in the women's shortboard at the Games. Anat Lelior secured a qualification slot for the nation as the highest-ranked surfer from Europe and one of the top 30 surfers in the overall open division at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games in Miyazaki (city), Miyazaki, Japan.

Swimming

Qualification for Israeli swimmers in the individual swimming events in Tokyo is accomplished by achieving the qualifying standards in the events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)): All Israeli swimmers must attain the FINA Olympic A-cut at one of the selection meets approved by the Israel Swimming Association, Israeli Swimming Association (ISA), or one percent faster at any other competition. Israel can also enter a team for relay events with a top-12 finish at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, 2019 FINA World Championships, provided that at least two swimmers in each relay event are qualified for any of the individual events. Matan Roditi became the first Israeli swimmer to compete in the open water marathon at the Games after finishing fourth in the 10 km at the 2021 FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier in Setubal,

. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Taekwondo

Israel entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Games.

secured a spot in the women's flyweight category (49 kg) with a top-two finish at the 2021 European Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021 European Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 19-year-old won the bronze medal.

Triathlon

Israel entered two triathletes to compete at the Games. Brothers Ran and Shachar Sagiv were selected among the top 26 triathletes competing in the men's event based on the ITU World Rankings. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed the participation of the two.

Weightlifting

Israel entered one weightlifter into the Olympic competition. David Litvinov received the slot left open by Brazilian Fernando Reis after he failed the pre-competition drug test.

References

{{Olympic medalists for Israel 2021 in Israeli sport, Olympics Israel at the Summer Olympics by year, 2020 Nations at the 2020 Summer Olympics