Olympics

A little can go a very long way

Danny Caro — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:21:09 +0100

Parents, we now have a duty of care to continue the incredible impact of London 2012. No doubt, the summer Olympics and Paralympics have captured the imagination and inspired a generation, just as it said on the tin. It was certainly money well spent in my eyes.

But all the efforts of the athletes, organisers and volunteers will be wasted if we forget some important lessons learnt.

We have seen first-hand the importance of spirit, belief, teamwork, fair play, dedication, hard work, commitment and bravery. The list goes on …

Yes, we have some great memories, but we should all be striving for excellence and high standards all day, every day. Giving it your best shot, absolutely everything, whatever your ability.

The power of sport has brought us closer together as human beings. Respect and goodwill has returned to the streets of a city gripped by rioting little over 12 months ago.

We saw some incredible scenes at the Paralympics. It was a truly humbling experience to cover the event for the first time and I’d like to share some words of wisdom from American athlete Nicholas Taylor. I spoke to him after he pipped Shraga Weinberg to bronze in the Wheelchair Tennis playoff, coming from a set down.

"I have a severe disability," he told me, "but never for one minute has it stopped me doing what I love and know best. I take this into every match with me. When you’re losing, you must come up with a plan B. If you’re determined enough, there’s always ways around things. I’ve overcome all the odds to make it this far in life.

"My ethos is practice, practice and practice some more. I never know when I’m beaten. That’s my greatest quality."

Inspiring words from an incredible competitor and incredible man. I’m sure you’ll agree.

* Lots of you have been asking how my son fared in his first football league match. Well, it didn’t start well as he was injured in the warm-up following a collision with a teammate that left him with a nasty gash. Yes, another injury-prone Caro. No doubt BUPA will be rubbing their hands. However, there was a happy ending as he helped his teammates win 7-3. Some of you may have heard the screams when his plaster came off in the bath later that day, but he’s passed the fitness test and will be raring to go again on Sunday.

Paralympians to take London by storm

Danny Caro — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:43:38 +0100

We talk to some of the Jewish Paralympians from around the globe

ADAM KELLERMAN
Country: Australia
Sport: Wheelchair tennis

As a sports-mad child, Adam Kellerman loved playing football and ice-hockey, but had little interest in tennis.

But after surviving cancer, the 22-year-old from Sydney has turned his attention to wheelchair tennis.

Next week he will represent his country at the Paralympic Games, playing in both the singles and doubles events.

At the age of 13, when he was a pupil at a Jewish school, doctors discovered a tumour in his right hip and he began chemotherapy. He had a partial hip replacement but it then got infected and they had to remove it completely. Today, he can walk only with the help of a stick and even doing so causes him significant pain.

Two years later he went to a wheelchair sports day. “They were playing basketball which I didn’t really like,” he said. “One of the guys running it told me he was a tennis coach and I went to a beginner’s class. Pretty much from when I started I knew that was what I wanted to do. Ranked second in Australia and 29 globally, he started playing in junior tournaments and has represented Australia on the Men’s team for the last three years.

Two years ago he won every match at the 2010 World Team Cup in Turkey without dropping a set.
Kellerman began the year ranked 61 in the world and has spent the last six months battling to go beyond the cut off point of 48.

He has combined a rigorous training schedule with studying physiology at the University of Arizona, although he put this on hold to prepare for the Paralympics.

The athlete, whose father is president of the Northside Maccabi Football Club, said the teams to beat were France and Holland. “They have very good teams,” he said. “It’s a very tough level of competition.

“When I was a teenager I never expected to play sport again. It’s definitely a dream come true. Sometimes I think about it and I can’t believe it.”

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DORON SHAZIRI
Country: Israel
Sport: Shooting

Doron Shaziri will be carrying the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony. The 45-year-old, who will be competing in two men’s rifle events, said: “This will be one of the most exciting moments of my life and if I can come home with a gold medal as well then that will be fantastic.”

This will be Shaziri’s fifth Paralympics having competed in every Games since Atlanta in 1996. To date he has come home with four silver medals and three bronze but a gold has so far eluded him.

“It’s just been one of those things,” he said. “I’ve been unlucky. I’ve come so close and I’ve also been world champion. It’s just a matter of putting together the right performance at the right time. I believe it will happen.”

Shaziri, a sniper in the Israeli army, lost a leg in Lebanon in 1987 after treading on a landmine. He said: “I’ve always been a very positive person. Even when I sat there in Lebanon waiting for treatment, I thought, well that’s part of my leg gone, but they’ll be able to make me a prosthetic leg.”

For many years Shaziri played wheelchair basketball but in the mid-1990’s he took up shooting and has never looked back. “I’ve got great powers of concentration,” he said. “When you’re shooting you forget about everything else.”

Married with two children, he has a custom-made wheelchair import business. “I don’t think this will be my last Paralympics. It has been going very well in training and I think I can win gold. But if not, there is always Rio in 2016.”

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PASCALE BERCOVITCH
Country: Israel
Sport: Hand-cycling

Pascale finished eighth in the rowing event at the Beijing Paralympics, but in London she has changed sport to hand-cycling. “The import thing is to compete but it would be great to come home with a medal,” she said. “I’m confident I can win at least a bronze.”

Born in Paris in 1967, she was involved in a horrific accident aged 17 when she slipped off a railway platform and her feet were trapped under a train. Both legs had to be amputated. Nevertheless, she went through with her plans to move to Israel where she volunteered for the army. She now works as a journalist, has made film documentaries, including one about the Paralympics in Sydney, and lectures on motivation, specialising in coping with crisis and pressure.

She said: “People must understand that the most difficult thing is always taking the first step – getting started. Getting up in the morning and doing something good. So many people give up before they start. You must flow with your heart and just do things.”

It’s a formula that has worked well for Bercovitch and helped her overcome her handicap. She loves extreme sports, especially mountain climbing. In London she will compete for three medals: the 16km time trial, the 48km road race and the 18km mixed relay, along with Kobi Leon and Nati Gruberg.

Married with two children, she said: “A medal is an important goal for me but I already have two gold medals in my two daughters Eden and Mika.”

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INBAL PEZARO
Country: Israel
Sport: Swimming

Inbal Pezaro will be going in search of a sixth Paralympic medal when she takes to the swimming pool at the Aquatics Centre.

Pezaro, 25, who competed in Athens and Beijing, is one of Israel’s top hopes. Born with a blood problem in her spinal cord which causes a disability involving in her lower limbs, she took up swimming at the age of five and never looked back.

At the age of 14, Pezaro won silver in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships in Italy before winning the same event a year later in Argentina.

As a 17-year-old and the youngest member of the Israeli Olympic squad, she hit the headlines after claiming silver in the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 200m freestyle at the 2004 Athens games.

Her success continued in 2006 at the World Championships in South Africa where she won gold in the 100m breaststroke as well as finishing second in both the 100m and 200m freestyle.

Four years ago, she was one of the shining stars as she won three silvers in Beijing, accounting for half of Israel’s total medal haul.

And with Israel’s able-bodied athletes having failed so dismally, the nation will be hoping Pezaro can bring a smile to their faces and finally win Olympic gold.

Profiles by Jennifer Lipman, Simon Griver and James Masters

These athletes don’t want sympathy. They just want a chance

Danny Caro — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:41:40 +0100

Granted, not everyone is gripped by Paralympics fever, but give it a few days and I’m sure we’ll all be singing from the same hymn sheet. Give it a chance. That’s all I’m saying, after one member of my social circle described the Games as “cruel”.

After all, it’s worth remembering that in many cases, these athletes have been given a second chance in life, a chance many of their friends and families believed they would never get.

Ticket sales for the event are booming and I’m sure the sceptics will be blown away by the quality on show. The competitors aren’t looking for the sympathy vote. Just look at Oscar Pistorius. His attitude is impossible is nothing. I’m looking forward to meeting the real heroes hoping to make amends for Israel’s failure at the Olympics.

On that note, I was shocked to hear the terrible news about windsurfer Lee Korzits. No wonder she didn’t give me a straight answer when I asked about her future plans.

As I mentioned in my Olympics coverage a couple of weeks ago, she stayed in the water long after her medal race had finished. Clearly, she had more to reflect on than people thought and I wish her all the best with her treatment.

* With the end of the transfer window fast-approaching, many fans are wondering what the future holds for Israel captain Yossi Benayoun and Nir Biton. As a Liverpool fan, I’d love to see Yossi return to Anfield. I believe he’s well-suited to Brendan Rogers’ tiki-taka style. Since becoming a father for the fourth time, Yossi has been locked in talks with several clubs and he should have a new home this time next week.

The Biton situation is slightly more complex. He’s been linked with Spurs and Premiership champions Manchester City but will struggle to seal a dream move to the Premiership due to work permit problems given his lack of games for Israel.

Back to the window. I’ve already given my wife the night off as I’ll be locked in to what has become must-watch television.

Aleh reflects on her golden moment

Danny Caro — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:34:18 +0100

Jo Aleh recalled the moment she broke the hearts of a nation after pipping home favourites Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark to the 470 Sailing gold medal.

The British pair were left in tears after missing out on the gold they so desperately craved.
Aleh, 26, and partner Polly Powrie, who go by the name ‘Team Jolly,’ were tied with the British duo after nine races but edged to victory in a thrilling finale in Weymouth.

A tactical contest saw Mills and Saskia force the New Zealand boat to the right of the course, but the wind then changed direction allowing Aleh and Powrie to cross the line first.

“It feels great to go home with a medal,” said Aleh, who is from Muriwai Beach. “There was a great atmosphere going into the final race against the British girls and we were relieved to see the job through.”

The Kiwi sailors were given a heroes welcome when they came out of the water as their teammates and coaches lifted them up and carried them into the boat park.

”I didn’t think that was possible to lift a 470 with two people in it,” Aleh said. “That was pretty amazing, just knowing all those people were here to see us and help us out.”

Aleh, who won the world title in 2007 and finished seventh at the 2008 Olympics, took an interest in the sport in 1995 after watching the America’s Cup. “I saw it on TV and thought it looked pretty fun,” she said. “I don’t know how I got dinghy sailing mixed up with the America’s Cup, but I guess I was watching the Kiwis just smacking everyone on the world stage. I like the idea of that.”

Aleh’s parents, Shuki and Daniella, met in the IDF before marrying in New Zealand and she will visit Israel shortly for her sister’s batmitzvah.

“It feels great to know that there are even more people behind me and, given my parents’ background, part of my medal belongs to Israel,” she said.

She had her own batmitzvah in Beersheeva in 1998 and saved up for her first racing yacht with the money she received.

Asked if she will be in Rio in four years time, she said: “We can’t give it away now, we’re having too much fun. We have to have a chat about it but we should be in Brazil in some form.”

Blatt dedicates medal to Israel

Danny Caro — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:07:45 +0100

An Israeli finally won a medal at the 2012 London Olympics. The only problem - he was coaching the Russian Men's Basketball team.

David Blatt, who also coaches Maccabi Tel Aviv, steered the Russians to bronze following a nail-biting 81-77 victory in the third-place playoff.

"This is a very proud moment for me," said Blatt, who guided the Russians to their first basketball medal.

Blatt went on to dedicate his medal to Israel. "I am a product of Israeli sport," he added. "I wholeheartedly offer this medal to everyone. As a child I used to watch American athletes on the podium and wanted to be one of them."

Blatt was born in Boston and played college basketball at Princeton University from for four years. In 1981, his last year playing in the America, he took part at the Maccabiah Games and helped Team USA win gold. The competition clearly tugged on his heartstrings as he decided to stay in Israel.

Olympic Games: Day 16 round-up

Danny Caro — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:00:23 +0100

There was drama on the last day of the Olympics as Israeli marathon runner Zohar Zmiro collapsed at the finish line and was taken away in a wheelchair for medical assistance.

Zmiro, who was born in Ethiopia, was illl during the run, but determined to finish. He placed 81st in 2:34:59.

He collapsed at the finish line and received medical treatment before being taken away in a wheelchair.

Israel's Women's Rhythmic Gymnastics finished eighth in the Team final with a score of 53.400.

David Blatt was the only Israeli to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics after guiding Russia to bronze in the Men's Basketball third place playoff.

They beat Lithuania 81-77.

Olympic Games: Day 15 round-up

Danny Caro — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 22:35:56 +0100

Israel's Neta Rivkin finished seventh in the finals of the Women's Individual All-Round Rhythmic Gymnastics final at Wembley Arena.

The 21-year-old produced some more eye-catching performances in the with the hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon routines.

Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia took the gold medal.

Israel's Women of Polina Zakaluzny, Viktoriya Koshel, Noa Palatchy, Moran Buzovski and Marina Shults will be looking to impress in the Team finals tomorrow, while Zohar Zmiro compete in the Men's Marathon on the final day of the 2012 London Olympics.

Rivkin through to Gymnastics final

Danny Caro — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:47:27 +0100

Neta Rivkin produced two excellent routines on day two of the qualifiers to reach tomorrow's finals.

There was huge pressure on the gymnast who is Israel's last realistic hope of going home with a medal following a hugely disappointing performance from the squad.

Rivkin, who took silver at the 2011 European Championships and bronze at the World Championship in the same year, went into Friday's final two rotations in 14th position and she produced some inspiring gymnastics to squeeze into the top 10.

She started with a score of 27.525 - her best mark of these Games - on Friday in the Clubs routine, receiving 8.925 for difficulty, 9.3 for Artistic and 9.3 for Execution.

Rivkin finished the qualifying rotation with a stunning ribbon routine, where she claimed a competition best score of 27.725 to put her in ninth place on 108.900.

Rivkin told the JC: "It was very important to reach the final. I had a bad day yesterday and was determined to put it right.

"Today was the money-time and tomorrow I'm going to have fun and enjoy it. I had a difficult night last night but I'm relieved I've shown London what I'm capable of."

America's Julie Zetlin finished in 21st place in her first Olympics, recording a score of 81.175 from four rounds.

She said: "It was a great feeling competing for my country. This was always my biggest dream and seeing so many American flags in the crowd was an uplifting experience. Being here was the icing on the cake and I couldn't have asked for anything else."

Israel's Rhythmic Gymnastics Team made it a day to remember by reaching the final of their event after finishing seventh in the qualifiers.

Olympic Games: Day 14 round-up

Danny Caro — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:55:03 +0100

Jo Aleh of New Zealand was celebrating the fourth Jewish gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, while there was some much-needed cheer for Israel as Neta Rivkin reached the final of the Individual Rhythmic Gymnastics competition.

SAILING
Jo Aleh, 26, and Olivia Powrie, 24, won gold in the Women's 470 competition in Weymouth.

Known as 'Team Jolly', they won New Zealand's fourth gold medal of the Games, beating home favourites Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark.

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Neta Rivkin produced two excellent routines on day two of the qualifiers to reach tomorrow's finals.

She started with a score of 27.525 - her best mark of these Games - on Friday in the Clubs routine, receiving 8.925 for difficulty, 9.3 for Artistic and 9.3 for Execution.

Rivkin finished the qualifying rotation with a stunning ribbon routine, where she claimed a competition best score of 27.725 to put her in ninth place.

Rivkin told the JC: "It was very important to reach the final. I had a bad day yesterday and was determined to put it right.

"Today was the money-time and tomorrow I'm going to have fun and enjoy it. I had a difficult night last night but I'm relieved I've shown London what I'm capable of."

Zetlin registered 24.250 with the clubs on Friday, with a great routine full of flips and confidence. Overnight she was placed 22nd out of 24 in her first Olympics.

The American was in tears after her final routine after dropping one of her clubs, which left her with a score of 24.225.

Israel finished the Group event qualifiers in 14th place overnight. That will be enough to take them into tomorrow's final.

BASKETBALL
Russia, coached by Israeli David Blatt, missed out on a place in the Men's Basketball final when they were beaten by Spain.

Zeevi's crash landing

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:02:30 +0100

Arik Zeevi described his devastating 43-second defeat as his ‘blackest nightmare’ after being dumped out of the men’s judo.

The 2004 bronze medallist was tipped to challenge for the main prize in London but lasted less than a minute.

Zeevi was left in tears after losing to Germany’s Dimitri Peters in the Men’s 100kg.

He said: “It’s a feeling somewhere between I can’t believe what happened and I can’t believe that I did so badly,” Zeevi said, crying.

“I never imagined that the competition would end this way.

“It’s too bad that in judo there’s no second chance and no way to fix things. It’s very painful.”